Yuiko Urameshi
by Red Roses2
Summary: Not continuing. Sorry fans. Inspiration has officially died.
1. Default Chapter

Red Roses2: I probably be working on Hiei's Niece instead of writing this, but I can't become inspired to write it, but I'm trying my best! Besides, just having two YYH one-shots and only one non-one-shot story on it is kind of pathetic to me, so. . . you get the idea. Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho, but I believe I do own the idea unless someone already thought of it! In case you were too stupid enough not to have read the summary before clicking on my story, here's the summary. 

Summary: How would the show be different if Yusuke was a girl? 

Red Roses2: [Giggles and sweat drops] I have a similar story except it's Harry Potter. If you're interested, go and read it. It's already up to 99 reviews and it's not even finished yet. Now, let's get to the story!

* * *

A car sped forward, started to swerve, and the next thing everyone knew was that the car ran over a fourteen-year-old girl who had saved a little boy from having that fate. "I didn't mean to, honest." the driver of the car said, stepping out of the car. His wife was still sitting in the car, shocked at what just happened. Up in the sky, a fourteen-year-old girl blinked in confusion and looked down at what was happening below her. None of this made sense to her for one reason only: she _was_ the girl that had gotten run over. 

"What happened?" the girl asked. Her name was Yuiko Urameshi. Her friends, Kuwabara and Keiko, were allowed to call her Yu-Yu. Yuiko stared at the mangled body on the ground. "Okay, that's really weird. If I'm down there, then who am I up here?" Yuiko thought for a moment. "I guess that means I'm a ghost." Yuiko showed no sign of being worried of being dead at such a young age. 

"You ARE correct!" came a hyper voice from somewhere above Yuiko. The girl looked up and saw another girl with _blue_ hair in a high ponytail, in a pink kimono, _flying_ on an oar. "Usually it takes people a full few days to figure it out!" Yuiko just stared at her. Yuiko was a black-haired and brown-eyed girl, her hair went down to her earlobes and her eyes looked like dark chocolate. Her bangs lay all over her forehead and she had a bandage on her cheek. She was wearing green jeans and her school uniform top. 

"Who are you? Another ghost?" Yuiko questioned. "I'm Botan, keeper of the River Sticks, but I believe in your religion you know me as the Grim Reaper." the blue-haired girl replied cheerfully. Yuiko narrowed her eyes at Botan. 

"The Grim Reaper wears pink kimonos and has an overly cheerful personality?" Yuiko stated. "I think the Underworld has gone coo-coo." Yuiko had to laugh at her own comment. 

"Hey! I can wear whatever I want! Besides, black looks horrible on me!" Botan exclaimed. 

"_Right_." Yuiko replied, lounging in the air. "Then tell me, _Reaper_, how's the kid? Will he be okay?" She watched an ambulance take her body and the little boy away. "And I'm already dead! What's the point of taking me to a hospital!? A little late for that, I'd say!" 

"He'll be fine. He would have been fine if you hadn't saved him." Botan answered. 

"What?" Yuiko asked, turning around to Botan and rising herself to that she and the Grim Reaper were face to face. 

"He wasn't supposed to die today, and neither were you." Botan stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Yuiko just stared at her. 

"You mean I sacrificed my life for nothing?" Yuiko suggested. 

"Pretty much, yeah." Botan grinned. Yuiko continued to stare at her. "And staring is rude, you know!" The black-haired girl closed her eyes and lounged herself in the air again. 

"So, where am I going now?" 

"Well, we don't have a place for you in the Spirit World yet, so there's no where _to_ take you." Botan stated. Yuiko opened her eyes and looked at Botan. 

"And?" Botan thought for a moment and took out a little, dark blue book that said _Handbook for Grim Reapers_. Yuiko anime fell. "SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW THIS STUFF!?" Botan ignored her. 

"Ah, here it is! You will be given another chance at life." Botan smiled and Yuiko looked at her with narrowed eyes. The fourteen-year-old rested her chin in her hand. 

"I don't know. Being a ghost has it's perks, if not a few disadvantages. I mean, I may not be able to hold anything, but I can go through walls, fly around, freak people out. . . . I might even get back at those friends of Keiko's for talking about me behind my back. Not to mention that I can make Kuwabara regret not fighting with me when he had the chance." Yuiko listed, moving her finger in the air as though writing all of these things on an invisible blackboard. It was Botan's turn to stare. Most people would want another shot at life. "But then again, I wouldn't be able to fight, help out my boxing team win that tournament they're entering, and Keiko, Kuwabara and I were going to see a movie on Saturday and if I'm dead, seeing it _with them knowing I'm there_ is completely impossible. Well, unless they can somehow see or sense ghosts which I highly doubt." Yuiko bit her lip. "What do you think?" 

"I think I need to leave you alone while you decide. I'll be back!" Botan then flew off, leaving Yuiko hovering there. She raised her eyebrows and decided to fly around the city to get a bird's eye view of it. 

Soon she heard familiar voices. "Where's Yuiko? She's normally trying to get you to fight her around this time of day." said one of Kuwabara's male friends. 

"Yeah, but I don't see the point. You're never gonna fight a girl even if someone paid ya!" exclaimed another one of them. Yuiko flew through the wall of a building and saw Kuwabara and his other friends sitting at a table in a ramen restaurant. She flew over the other people and sat herself down between two of the guys. 

"I don't know. I have a weird feeling that something's wrong." Kuwabara admitted. Kuwabara had red hair that didn't look red at all, more like orange. He had black eyes and was wearing the boys school uniform: blue jeans and a blue jacket. Kuwabara was the only one with a light blue one. Kuwabara suddenly tensed. 

"What's the matter?" one of the other boys asked. 

"Don't you know? Kuwabara can sense when ghosts are around. We call it the Tickle." another one explained. Yuiko remembered the 'Tickle', but she had always called it him being pessimistic. 

"I've had the Tickle since I was five. Ghosts kept on entering my sleep. Giving me nightmares. I ended up lying in bed awake a lot." Kuwabara shivered at the memories. Yuiko raised her eyebrows. 

"Is it the woman with the ax, again?" one of this friends wondered. 

"No, but it does feel familiar. Like I've met it before. It feels almost like it's a teenager like us, but different." Kuwabara announced. 

"I'm right here, you baka. Sitting two seats away from you." Yuiko pointed out. No one heard her. Then she got an idea. She glided closer over to Kuwabara. He started to sweat. 

"It's coming closer." Kuwabara gulped. Yuiko grinned. She waved her hand in front of his face and then tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped up in the air and leaped out of his seat. Yuiko burst out laughing. "Let's get out of here!" Kuwabara ran out of the restaurant, Yuiko still laughing. She had no idea Kuwabara could be scared so easily. 

"Wait for us, Kuwabara!" his friends called after him, getting up from the table, one of them quickly leaving a tip and running as though someone with a giant ax was wanting to kill him. He was screaming bloody murder when Yuiko somehow accidentally knocked his glass over when he was leaving the tip. This only made her laugh harder. 

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Yuiko flew over everything, gazing at the star-covered sky. She was heading over to her home to see how her mother was doing. Yuiko didn't know why she wanted to; her mom wasn't exactly the best one someone could have to put it in a cliche. She made it to the window of her and her mom's apartment and saw a ceremonial thing going on. At the far end of the room, she could see her picture and a bunch of lit candles. Yuiko went through the wall just in time to see the door open and to see her childhood friend and best friend come through the door. Keiko had brown hair that she kept braided and in pigtails. She had brown eyes and was wearing the girls uniform (blue pleated skirt and white top with a blue bow) that Yuiko refused to wear, mainly for the skirt and the fact that she couldn't stand the color blue. 

Keiko walked over to the picture of Yuiko and got down on her knees. She put her hands in a prayer position. "Yu-Yu, I hope you can hear me." Keiko started. "That was really brave of you for saving that little boy's life. I know heroics were never your thing, and that all you ever wanted to do was learn how to be a fighter and make fighting your living, but I'm really glad that you put his life before your own, even though it meant throwing your own away." Keiko choked and started crying. Yuiko stared at Keiko. They were both like sisters. Even their arguments made them look like they were sisters. They'd known each other all their lives, knew each other better than anyone else did, and Yuiko never knew how much she meant to Keiko. 

Keiko stood up and bowed to Yuiko's mother, who was sitting next to the wall, and left the room. Yuiko was about to leave when suddenly Kuwabara entered. He ran over to the picture, despite the fact that all of his male friends were holding him back. Yuiko wondered what he was doing there. "Yuiko Urameshi! Why the heck did you have to die?! You never gave up like this before! Especially in a fight! And in the fight of staying alive, staying here with us, you decide to lose!? Coward! If you find a way to come back, I swear I'll never say that I won't fight with you just because you're a girl again, okay!? Just come back, Yu-Yu! Come back!" Kuwabara shouted. 

"_Kuwabara_!" his friends begged, still trying to pull him back. Eventually they dragged him out of the room. "Sorry about him." Yuiko felt like she had a lump in her throat. Almost immediately, the little boy and someone who looked like his mother came in. Yuiko made her way closer to what was going on now. The little boy and his mother kneeled down in front of the picture. They put their hands in the same position that Keiko did. 

"Thank you for saving my little boy." the mother said, then put her hands down. The little boy had a smile on his face. 

"Thanks for saving me and making me laugh." the little boy told the picture. The mother stood up and took the boy's hand. She bowed to Yuiko's own mother and were leaving. 

"Yuiko." Yuiko's mom whispered. Then she broke down into sobs and tears. Yuiko stared at her mother before leaving to follow the little boy. Maybe she could say your welcome to him in some way. 

Yuiko flew until she finally caught sight of the boy and his mother. She flew down low enough so that she could talk to him, but the boy talked first. "Can I play with her tomorrow? She was really nice." the little boy asked. Yuiko looked at him. He didn't know what death was. 

"No, I don't think so." the mother replied. 

"How about if I'm good?" the boy questioned. The mother looked down at him, kneeled down and hugged him tightly. Yuiko couldn't take it anymore. 

"BOTAN!" Yuiko screamed. 

"You yelled?" Botan said, appearing right next to Yuiko. 

"I want to have another chance! Is your offer still open?" Yuiko declared. Botan nodded. 

"Just come with me." Botan replied and they went off. To what and where, Yuiko didn't know. 

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Red Roses2: Well? What did you think? Is Yuiko a strange name? I couldn't think of anything else original that I hadn't used in another story that started with a Y so I went with what first came into my head. Please tell me if I should continue. 


	2. Koenma

Red Roses2: Review responses: 

Tomgirl27: Uh, no. I don't think it'll be Yuiko/Kuwabara. That. . . sounds very strange. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's Kuwabara. And, well, I don't want to let anything leak out, but what do you think about Yuiko/Hiei? 

KikyoKurama: Thanks. I'm glad you don't think it's a weird idea. But, Evil inard eating Tellietubies of chaos? WHERE do you people think up these disturbing battle cries!? By the way, what do you think about Yuiko/Hiei? 

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. If I make anything wrong, it's because I remembered it wrong. I'm doing all of this by memory!

* * *

Botan led Yuiko to a different world. All the plants below were yellow and the sky was pink. Mountains were purple and she wondered if anything else was colored differently. "Where are we?" Yuiko asked. 

"The Spirit World." Botan replied. Yuiko continued to look around. 

"Spirit World." Yuiko repeated to herself. "BTW, where are you taking me?" Yuiko glided closer to Botan so that she could hear her response better. 

"We're off to see King Yama. He'll give you what you need to go back to the living." Botan explained. Seeing the curious and blank look on Yuiko's face, Botan continued. "He is the ruler of the Spirit World. He is humongous and it's best not to get him angry. He has quite the temper." Yuiko tried to imagine a gigantic human with supernatural powers in her mind, but she couldn't make it out very well. 

"Okay. So, do you work for this King Yama?" Yuiko wondered. 

"Yes, being the Grim Reaper and all. Look, there's his palace." Botan answered. Yuiko looked in front of herself and her jaw dropped. In front of her and Botan was a red castle with golden adorations shaped like demons, the door as bright as the gold. It seemed to be floating on a cloud. "This way." Botan led Yuiko into the palace where Yuiko started to walk and Botan got rid of the oar. They walked down long halls, Yuiko continuing to wonder what King Yama looked like. She suddenly started imagining a big, red-faced creature with horns and a big club in his hand. Yes, that seemed a lot more terrifying that what she had thought up before. They soon entered through another door. The girls were now in a yellow room with a desk and a big red chair in the middle. "I have returned." Botan said, bowing. Yuiko wondered if she should do the same, until the chair turned around. 

"Bwahaha!" escaped Yuiko's mouth before she quickly covered it, trying not to laugh. Sitting in front of her was a toddler in blue with a big blue hat on. He was wearing a red scarf and had black hair it seemed. "Is this King Yama? I thought you said he was huge, Botan!" Yuiko was able to say before having to stop herself from laughing again. 

"No, King Yama is my father. I am Koenma. And I didn't expect you do be so . . . ." the toddler trailed off as though looking for the right word. "Well, let's just say a few people are glad that you're dead. They say that you're a stubborn bully who loves to fight and kills for fun." Yuiko blinked and then her features darkened. 

"If you're talking about those damned teachers and those gossipy friends of Keiko's, then of course they would say that. They don't exactly like me. But it is true that I love to fight. I've just never killed anyone, and I'm not _exactly_ a bully." Yuiko corrected. Koenma didn't reply. "Just one question. Aren't you a little young to be taking over ruling for your father?" 

"I AM NOT A BABY!" Koenma shouted, getting up on the desk. "I'm thousands of years older that you can ever imagine!" Yuiko looked perplexed. 

"Then why are you so short and in a diaper?" the fourteen-year-old asked. Koenma turned red. 

"How did you know I'm in a diaper? OGRE!" a light blue ogre came into the room. 

"Yes, Koenma sir?" the ogre questioned. 

"When I'm done talking with this girl, you must teach her some manners!?" Koenma demanded. 

"Of course, Koenma sir." the ogre replied. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not my mother, so you can't make me do anything. I'm just here to be handed what I need to come back to life, whatever it is. That's what Botan said. So are you going to give it to me or what?" Yuiko crossed her arms and started tapping her foot lightly. Koenma fell back into his chair. 

"Very well." he grumbled. He pulled out a yellow egg and handed it to Yuiko. She blinked confusedly. 

"Er - What is this exactly?" Yuiko asked, taking it into her hand. 

"That egg will grow as you feed your soul into it. It can turn into either a monster or something that would not harm you once the egg has cracked. It'll be the mirror of your soul, Yuiko. If you do something bad, it'll change part of itself to fit what you had done. Do something good, and you won't be devoured when the egg hatches." Koenma explained. Yuiko went a little pale. 

"O-okay." Yuiko said, wondering if she should put the egg in her pocket. 

"Well? Why are you still here? Go away!" Koenma exclaimed, picking up a stamp on the desk, making a gesture as though he was going to throw it. Yuiko tensed a little. 

"Ah, thanks for the egg! Bye!" Yuiko replied, running out of the room, Botan following. 

"Slow down!" Botan called after Yuiko. 

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Yuiko was now hovering over a building in the living world, breathing in and out, with her legs crossed. "Man, I've heard of impatience, but that was ridiculous!" Yuiko nearly shouted. Botan reappeared next to Yuiko after a few minutes and they hovered in the air for a moment or two. 

"So you know, your body will be cremated in five days." Botan announced. 

"WHAT!?" 

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Red Roses2: Short, I know, but I wanted to leave it there. Would be a cliff hanger if I DID own Yu-Yu-Hakusho, and this was what the episodes were REALLY like. But, I don't, and they aren't, so oh well. Okay, that's all for today, and I was wondering what you would think of Yuiko/Kurama and/or Yuiko/Hiei. 


	3. Entering Dreams

Red Roses2: Review responses: 

Neoki Nigoi Jaganshi: You think Yuiko/Kurama? Okay. Thank you for reviewing. Er, I'm thinking about who's gonna do the mouth-to-mouth thingy. I'm actually leaning to Kuwabara slightly, but I might keep it Keiko and make both Yuiko and Keiko clean their mouths out with soap. 

Tomgirl27: You think Yuiko/Kurama just like Neoki Nigoi Jaganshi? Okay, that's two who want Yuiko/Kurama. And if I make it Yuiko/Hiei, I bet I can make it work. Thanks for reviewing. 

Bronze Dagger: Thanks for your compliment! But, which pairing do you think? Yuiko/Kurama or Yuiko/Hiei? 

Silver Wolf Gizi-chan: Okay, a third person for Yuiko/Kurama. Thank you for reviewing and the compliments. I'm glad you think it's funny. 

Hiei'sBestBuddy888: Giggles You're the first one who's wanted Yuiko/Hiei. Personally, I think I can make it work easier than Yuiko/Kurama, but I'll have to wait longer before I can really make a decision. Like, when she actually meets Kurama and Hiei! Laughs Thanks for reviewing, and I just might skip that part. 

Botan Mai Kai: Er, what do you mean by friction? And your vote makes it three for Yuiko/Kurama and two for Yuiko/Hiei. Don't worry. I'm not really making any decisions yet. I need a few more votes first. Thank you for reviewing. 

Red Roses2: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho! Or I wouldn't be writing this!

* * *

Yuiko flew all over the city to find Keiko. "Where on Earth is she?!" Yuiko asked, exasperatedly. Botan suddenly appeared in front of her. "GAH! Botan!" Yuiko glared at the keeper of the river sticks. 

"You're never going to stop your cremating that way." Botan stated. Yuiko blinked in confusion. "If you want to tell her to stop your mom from having your funeral, you're going to have to enter her dreams. She's not like Kuwabara. She doesn't have supernatural senses. And even if she did, you wouldn't be able to talk to her. Living people can't hear you, see you, and you can't touch anything, or do anything with inanimate objects. Real ghosts can't go haunting places. They can only haunt people from time to time." Yuiko sighed. 

"Great." Yuiko commented. She looked down at her watch that she had died wearing. It was 5:00 pm. She sighed again and laid back. "Botan?" 

"Hm?" 

"Do you think I'll be able to convince Keiko? I'm not sure she's going to believe a dream." 

"You can always enter Kuwabara's dreams as well." Botan suggested. "And make sure they talk about it. You can even enter your mother's dreams to help you out even more!" Yuiko shrugged. 

"I guess I can try that." Yuiko admitted. "Keiko normally goes to bed around 9:00 pm, and Kuwabara at 10:00. I should know; Keiko and I had a few sleepovers when we were little and Kuwabara's always complaining to himself about having a bedtime when he _thinks_ he's alone. I have several hours to wait, then." 

---------------------------------At 9:00------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Yuiko hovered over Keiko's bed, watching her best friend sleep peacefully. Yuiko took a deep breath and plunged into her dreams. It was all misty and soft-lighted. She wondered if she should just say her message into the mist, but before she could do so, Keiko appeared in front of her. Yuiko, slightly confused, nearly jumped. "Yu-Yu?" Keiko asked, blinking. 

"Yeah, it's me. Listen Keiko, you have to stop my mom from having that cremating thing. I'm coming back. I can't tell you how, mainly because it's so crazy you just might not believe me, but I am. This is NOT some cruel joke that your mind is pulling off, Ki-Ki." Yuiko smiled a little at using Keiko's nickname that only Yuiko was allowed to call Keiko by. "Tomorrow, ask Kuwabara if he's had the same dream if you want to make sure, okay?" Keiko blinked again. 

"Yu-Yu, what do you mean you're coming back? That's impossible isn't it?" Keiko questioned. 

"Bye!" Yuiko replied and she leaped out of Keiko's dreams and flew through the ceiling. "Now, to go into Kuwabara's dreams." 

-----------------------------------At 10:00--------------------------------------------------------------- 

Yuiko lowered her hand from her eyes to see that Kuwabara had finally gotten into bed. Yuiko sighed in relief and jumped into Kuwabara's dreams. She got a shock when she saw Kuwabara being chased by a fat woman with a huge ax, laughing. "I'm gonna get you! Yes I am!" the woman laughed evilly, swinging the ax at him. 

"Leave him alone!" Yuiko screeched and ran at her. She kicked the fat, crazy woman in the stomach, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. "This is my friend you're giving nightmares to! So stay out!" Yuiko tossed the Ax-Woman out of Kuwabara's dreams. 

"Yu-Yu!" Kuwabara exclaimed, panting. "What are you doing here?" Yuiko turned to Kuwabara and smiled. 

"To tell you to tell my mom to stop that funeral. I'm going to come back, Kuwabara. Get ready to fight with me. I hope you're not too rusty!" Yuiko answered, winking and giving him a thumbs up. 

"Who are you calling rusty!?" Kuwabara demanded, obviously angered by the comment. Yuiko laughed and left in a blink of an eye. Kuwabara blinked and looked around. "Yuiko?" 

Yuiko was now hovering over Kuwabara's house, smiling to herself. "Go Yu-Yu, oh yeah. Go Yu-Yu, you're good. Oh yeah, uh-huh." She shook her head at how childish she was acting. "Well, I guess I should go find Botan and tell her that I've done it. It'll give me something to do." And with that she flew off. 

-------------------------------------In the Morning----------------------------------------------------- 

Keiko slowly opened her eyes and sat up. 'That's strange.' she thought. 'I had a dream of Yuiko telling me to stop her funeral.' Keiko shrugged her shoulders and got out of bed. "Why would I have a dream like that?" Up above Keiko, Yuiko is rumpling her hair in frustration. 

"You had the dream because I entered your dreams and told you!" Yuiko exclaimed. She sighed in defeat and laid back like one would if they had fallen onto their bed after a long day in the air. "If she doesn't ask Kuwabara about the dream, then he'll tell my mom who won't believe it one bit and chase Kuwabara away and my body will be a pile of ash!" Suddenly, the phone rings. 

"I'll get it!" Keiko called out and went out of the room. Yuiko followed, wondering if it was Kuwabara. "Kuwabara? What are you doing calling this early?" Kuwabara said something to her. "Really? You had that dream too?" Yuiko's face lit up. She felt like doing a victory dance, but didn't want to embarrass herself in case Botan or some other spirit was around. "Do you think we should tell her? You know, Yuiko's mom." Yuiko's grin went away into a frown. Why hadn't she thought of her mother? "Okay, we'll tell her after school. See you later! Bye!" Keiko then hung up, smiling. "So it wasn't just a dream. Yu-Yu's coming back!" Keiko quickly ran back to her room to get dressed in her school uniform. Yuiko looked like she was about to faint. _Why_ had she forgotten all about her mom? Why? Yuiko flew through the roof and sped toward her house. 

"Talk about being stupid!" Yuiko scolded herself. She was stopped by Botan. Yuiko gave a yelp and stopped on a dime. "Botan! What - ?" 

"You better go quicker if you want to convince your mother to believe Keiko and Kuwabara. She'll wake up in a few minutes." Botan informed. Yuiko groaned. 

"Great. Thanks for the info, Botan!" Yuiko called over her shoulder as she sped past Botan. Birds of different colors flew past and through Yuiko as she made her way to her house. 'Stupid cremating ceremony. _Why_ did they have to think of setting my body on fire? Why don't burry it in a grave?' she thought as she made her way. A scream came from out of no where. Yuiko stopped and looked around. She sweat dropped when she saw that it was just a girly girl freaking out over her make-up. Yuiko rolled her eyes, but she quickly remembered what she was supposed to be doing before speeding off. Yuiko phased through an airplane. A little boy looked around when Yuiko past him. 

"What's wrong, honey?" the boy's mother asked. 

"I thought someone walked past me." the boy replied. His mother shook her head just as Yuiko phased through the end of the plane. Yuiko then dived down and went through a roof. She was in the living room of her house, but Yuiko was too late. Her mother was sitting up and stretching. Yuiko ruffled her hair up. 

"This is impossible!" Yuiko cried. "I'm so stupid for not thinking of sending her a message too!" 

"Don't give up, Yuiko." Botan encouraged, appearing next to her. 

"Why?" Yuiko demanded. 

"It'll be alright. All you have to do is go into her dreams tonight if she doesn't believe Keiko and Kuwabara - hopefully she will - and if she doesn't believe the dream," Botan put on a strange look and cat ears popped up. "then you're in a truck load of trouble!" Yuiko narrowed her eyes at Botan. 

"Thanks for the comfort." Yuiko replied sarcastically. Botan sweat dropped and Yuiko sighed. The black-haired girl put her hands behind her head and leaned back. "Let's just hope this works." 

----------------------------------The Afternoon--------------------------------------------------------- 

Keiko and Kuwabara stood outside of Yuiko's mother's home and Kuwabara knocked on the door. Yuiko and Botan hovered above them, holding their breath and crossing their fingers for good luck. Since ghosts didn't need oxygen, they could hold their breaths for as long as they wanted. Suddenly, they heard talking. Yuiko turned her head around and growled. Botan looked at Yuiko curiously. 

"What's wrong?" Botan asked. Yuiko pointed at where the talking was coming from. 

"_They're_ what's wrong." Yuiko answered. Two girls were walking toward them. Yuiko crossed her arms and glared at them. "Those two are Keiko's other friends." Botan watched the two girls walk past Yuiko's house. 

"I take it you don't like them." Botan commented. Yuiko shook her head. 

"They always talk about me behind my back, calling me "Butch". You know, that name that people call girls who they consider gay. Keiko doesn't know about that, but only because she's my best friend. If she wasn't, they'd be talking openly about me with her around." Yuiko growled, still glaring. "They're a couple of gossipy jerks." Botan listened intently and gazed at the scene that began to take place. The two girls walked up to Keiko. 

"Keiko, what are you doing here?" one of them questioned. 

"Yeah, especially with _him_." the other one said. Yuiko's jaw tightened. 

"Hey! What's _that_ supposed to mean!?" Kuwabara demanded. The two girls didn't answer. 

"We were going to the mall and shop. Would you like to come, Keiko?" the first one that spoke informed. 

"No thanks." Keiko replied. Yuiko smirked. 

"In your faces!" Yuiko exclaimed, even though they couldn't hear her. Botan rolled her eyes, but continued to watch. 

"You sure?" the second asked. 

"Positive." Keiko answered. 

"Okay. See you tomorrow." And the two girls left. Yuiko did a flip in the air. 

"Wahoo! Two points for Keiko! If Mom believes them about the dream, it'll be ten points!" Yuiko celebrated. Botan giggled a little. The door opened at that moment and Yuiko's mother appeared in the doorway. Yuiko sighed. Her mom was still wearing her pajamas and still had messy hair. 

"Even for her, that's unusual, and that's saying something." Yuiko commented. 

"Keiko? Kuwabara? What are you doing here?" Yuiko's mom questioned. Yuiko crossed her fingers for good luck again and Botan began holding her breath for a second time that day. 

"Hey Mrs. Urameshi. We just wanted to tell you that you can't have the funeral." Kuwabara informed bluntly. Yuiko hit her forehead. She had to admit that he wasn't the smartest boy in the world, but he could have had a little more tact, couldn't he? Keiko elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch! Hey!" 

"Why?" Yuiko's mom wondered. 

"Listen, we're telling you this for a very good reason." Keiko said. "You see, Yuiko came to both of us in dreams, telling us specifically that she was coming back and to not have the funeral. She even used my nickname in the dream!" Yuiko's mother didn't seem to believe it. 

"I think you two should leave." Yuiko's mother told them and closed the door. 

"Mrs. Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed. No response. The two of them sighed. Yuiko put her face into her hands. Botan let her breath out and shook her head. Keiko and Kuwabara walked away from the front door and left. 

"This is hopeless." Yuiko mumbled. "This is really hopeless." 

"No it's not." Botan announced. Yuiko separated her fingers to that she could look at Botan but not take her face out of her hands. "You just have to visit your mom in her dreams. That's all." Yuiko shook her head and lowered her hands from her face. 

"If you say so." Yuiko replied in a I-don't-believe-you voice. 

-------------------------------------7:00 pm-------------------------------------------------------------- 

Yuiko hovered over her mother's bed. Mrs. Urameshi was tossing and turning. Yuiko took a deep breath a plunged into her mother's dreams. Yuiko opened her eyes and saw nothing but blurred objects. The only thing in focus was her mother. 

"Mom?" Yuiko called out. She was surprised that her voice seemed so far away. Mrs. Urameshi must have drunk alcohol that night. How much, Yuiko didn't want to know. "Mom!" Mrs. Urameshi's head rose slightly. She stood up at the sight of her daughter. 

"Yuiko?" Mrs. Urameshi questioned. "Is that really you?" Yuiko ran over to her mother. 

"Yeah." Yuiko answered sincerely. Mrs. Urameshi hugged her daughter tightly. To Yuiko, this was very strange and different, but she hugged her mom as well. "Mom, you have to stop the funeral." Mrs. Urameshi let go of Yuiko. 

"What?" She looked very confused, while Yuiko had a look of determination, though if this didn't work, it would be shattered. 

"Stop the funeral. Keiko and Kuwabara were right. And they still are. I'm coming back." Yuiko slowly started to fade. 

"Yuiko, no! Don't leave!" Mrs. Urameshi's eyes filled with tears. 

"I'm coming back, Mom. Remember that." Yuiko said in a firm voice and disappeared from her mother's dream. Mrs. Urameshi broke down in tears. 

--------------------------------------------In the Morning---------------------------------------------- 

Yuiko hovered over her mother, waiting for her to wake up. Suddenly, Mrs. Urameshi woke up earlier than she ever did before and surprised Yuiko. Mrs. Urameshi ran over to the phone and dialed a number. 

"Yes, funeral home? I'm canceling my daughter's funeral." Mrs. Urameshi announced into the phone. 

"YES!" Yuiko yelled, jumping up in the air. "I DID IT! Botan! I did it!" Botan appeared in an instant. 

"That's great!" Botan exclaimed. Yuiko twirled herself in the air while her mom finished up a conversation with the person on the other end. She then dialed another number. 

"Keiko?" Mrs. Urameshi said into the phone. 

"Mrs. Urameshi?" came Keiko's voice from the other end. 

"I'm sorry that I didn't believe you when you and Kuwabara told me that Yuiko was coming back. She came to me in a dream as well last night and told me what she told you. I've canceled the funeral like she said." 

"Great! Now all we have to do it wait." Keiko replied happily and they both hung up. Mrs. Urameshi had a similar conversation with Kuwabara. 


	4. Coming Back, A Rather Humorous Chapter

Red Roses2: Continue telling me which pairing you want. Yuiko/Kurama or Yuiko/Hiei. Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. And sorry it took me so long!

* * *

Yuiko and Botan were waiting for Koenma to show up in Yuiko's room, which was now the sanctuary for Yuiko's for-now-empty body. Yuiko stared down at her body, which looked, well, different somehow. It looked more welcoming and a place that she'd never want to leave again. 

"Body-sick?" asked a familiar voice. 

"Yeah." Yuiko replied, before realizing that it wasn't Botan who had asked her. She turned around and saw Koenma. "About time!" 

"Sorry I took so long, but it was hard for me to decide how to tell you the way you would be coming back to life." Koenma explained. Yuiko raised an eyebrow. 

"Why?" she questioned slowly and suspiciously. Koenma sighed. 

"It requires mouth-to-mouth, which I know you won't like, seeing that it would make you uncomfortable if your mother or Keiko did it, and that you, though you like having him as a friend, detest the thought of any romantic relations - even if it's one-sided on his part - with Kuwabara." Koenma explained. Yuiko's eyes widened in horror. Not so much that Koenma somehow knew about that, but the actual reality of what he was saying. 

"And . . . why do . . . they have to do . . . that?" Yuiko asked even more slowly. Koenma sighed. 

"Because they're the closest people to you, that's why. You can pick who, but it has to be by tonight, midnight, or else you can say good bye to any chance of returning to the world of the living." Koenma answered. Yuiko gulped. "I'll let you think about it." Koenma disappeared a moment later and Yuiko stood there, speechless and horrified. Botan floated over to Yuiko and put her hand on Yuiko's shoulder. 

"Should we cross off Kuwabara?" Botan wondered. Yuiko looked like she was about to faint. 

"Whether I like it or not, the thought of a _girl_ doing it creeps me out even more." Yuiko admitted, shaking her head in defeat. "I'll go find Kuwabara and tell him." Her voice sounded dead and she left through the floor. 

Finding Kuwabara had been hard. Yuiko had completely forgotten what day it was, so she had to search all over the city before she realized that he must be at school. Yuiko phased through the ceiling of the Math classroom and couldn't believe her luck. Kuwabara had fallen asleep! Apparently, no body had noticed, so Yuiko took this chance to enter his dreams again. Yuiko narrowed her eyes when she saw what he was dreaming of. Pretty girls. How typical. Yuiko took a deep breath before making her presence known. "KUWABARA!" Yuiko shouted. Kuwabara turned around, a grin plastered on his face. 

"Hey, Yuiko! What're you doing here?" Kuwabara asked. Yuiko had her arms crossed and, to Kuwabara, looked very unhappy. In truth, Yuiko looked really disturbed, but that was really beside the point. 

"I . . . need to ask you of a . . . favor. It's connected to me coming back from being dead." Yuiko replied, becoming uneasy fast. 

"What is it?" Kuwabara questioned. Yuiko walked up to Kuwabara and whispered it into his ear. When she was done, Kuwabara blinked in confusion. "Okay, but why me?" Yuiko narrowed her eyes at him again. 

"Don't ask questions and just do it! I'll be leaving you to your sleeping during class, then, if you're going to do it. And I'm warning you! If you enjoy it, I'll kill you!" Yuiko threatened and leaped out of his dreams. The teacher, a man with the personality of a monster, came up to Kuwabara's desk and slapped a ruler down on it. 

"Mr. Kuwabara!" the teacher exclaimed, and snapped Kuwabara out of his sleep. Yuiko flew out of the building and sighed. She wasn't going to like having to do mouth-to-mouth with Kuwabara. Not at all. 

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The bell rang and everyone was leaving the school. Kuwabara was running to the Urameshi residents, when suddenly the cell phone that Yuiko had given him a year ago as a birthday present rang in his pocket. Kuwabara stopped running and took out the phone. "Hello? This is Kazuma Kuwabara speaking." Kuwabara greeted into the receiver. 

"I know who you are, little brother." replied the person on the other end. 

"Oh! Shizuru! Hi!" Kuwabara said, grinning embarrassedly. 

"Can you buy a galleon of milk on your way home? I'm surprised Ichiki drank so much of the one we have already." Kuwabara's older sister continued. "And if you want dinner, you should get it here by 7:00." 

"But -" Kuwabara started, but Shizuru had hung up. Kuwabara sighed, turned around, and went in the direction of the supermarket. 

Meanwhile, at the Urameshi residents, Yuiko, Botan, and Koenma were hovering in Yuiko's bedroom, waiting. "What's taking him so long?" Yuiko wondered irritably. "Let's just get it over with!" 

"He'll get here if he wants you back that badly." Koenma reassured. "If he doesn't get here by midnight, well, you'll be a ghost forever." 

"Thanks a lot, Prince Koenma." Yuiko said sarcastically. Koenma glared at her. 

"Calm down, you two." Botan warned. "I know we're all on edge here, but we shouldn't be tearing each other's heads off." Botan turned to Yuiko. "So, any cute boys back at your school?" Yuiko snorted. 

"No, but there _is_ this really cute Suiichi boy that goes to a different school." Yuiko answered. Botan giggled and Koenma grunted in disapproval and boredom. 

Back with Kuwabara, he had bought the milk and was setting it down on the counter in the kitchen of the Kuwabara residents. "There you go, sis." Kuwabara announced, looking tired. There had been a long line, and he had to fight security to buy the milk because he had picked a fight with one of the people in line because they wouldn't let him cut. 

"Took you long enough." Shizuru commented. Kuwabara sweat dropped and turned around to walk out the door. "Where are you going?" 

"To help a friend." Kuwabara replied truthfully. Before Shizuru could say anything else, Kuwabara had left. 

Kuwabara had ran a few blocks until he ran into someone. "Oomph! Hey! Watch it!" Kuwabara exclaimed indignantly. He had ran into a red-headed teenager that seemed to be a little older than he was, but not as tall. 

"Actually, I was. It was you who ran into me." the red-head informed matter-of-factly. He had a soft voice, and his long hair and bright green eyes would make many girls to think him as cute or handsome. 

"Whatever." Kuwabara said and pushed past him. The red-head raised an eyebrow after him. In his mind, Kuwabara was a bit strange, but he had sensed power that most humans didn't have. But he shrugged it off and continued on his way. 

Kuwabara ran through the slowly-becoming-crowded sidewalks with difficulty. He nearly plowed over an old lady in his haste. He quickly apologized and continued to run. 'Don't be too late, don't be too late, don't be too late . . . .' Kuwabara thought over and over again as he ran to Yuiko's house. 

Back with Yuiko . . . . . . . 

"Crap, it's nine o'clock! Where in bloody hell can he be!?" Yuiko demanded, glancing at the clock. Koenma yawned and Botan shook herself awake. 

"Well, the sidewalks _are_ crowded." Botan pointed out. Yuiko narrowed her eyes at Botan. 

"If Kuwabara actually gets slowed down by that, then I'm a blue bird shaped like a rabbit, who continuously says 'poo'." Yuiko retorted tiredly. Koenma raised an eyebrow. 

"Quite the imagination." Koenma commented. Yuiko shrugged. 

"Had to think of something not seen everyday or heard of in stories every single day like fire-breathing, two-headed, man-eating dragons. Just to make the conversation interesting." Yuiko explained, stretching. "He should be here by now! If he thinks I'm going to thank him nicely, he's got another thing coming. It's bad enough _he_ has to do it!" Yuiko crossed her arms and sulked. 

With Kuwabara . . . . . . . . 

"Sorry! Oops, sorry! Ouch! Hey! Sorry! I'm in a hurry!" Kuwabara continuously shouted to people who he almost plowed over, stepped on their foot, stepped on his foot, and for accidentally stepping on a breakable toy that a little kid was about to pick up. Kuwabara stopped and looked around. He broke into a grin when he saw that Yuiko's house wasn't that far away now. "Yes! I'm coming, Yuiko!" 

Yuiko poked her head out through the window, literally, to see how far away Kuwabara was. She narrowed her eyes at him and wished that she could hear him so that she could shout at him. "About time." she muttered instead and took her head back inside. "So, how long do you think it'll take him to get up here?" 

"Fifteen minutes." Koenma stated. 

"Half an hour." Botan put in. Yuiko's frustrated frown deepened and she sighed. 

"I just hope it's soon." Yuiko admitted, lounging in the air. "Being dead is kind of a drag." 

Kuwabara finally reached the house and knocked on the front door, then rung the doorbell. Yuiko shook her head. Kuwabara had always done that ever since she became friends with him, which was almost as long ago as when she had met Keiko. Mrs. Urameshi answered the door. "Oh, it's you, Kuwabara." Mrs. Urameshi greeted. "Come in." Kuwabara muttered a thanks and dashed to Yuiko's room. Yuiko, Botan, and Koenma looked at the clock. Nine o' ten. 

"Finally." Yuiko mumbled, but as she watched Kuwabara standing next to her bed, she covered her eyes with both of her hands. "Tell me when it's over." 

"You'll know when it's over." Koenma informed. "You'll be back in your body when it's over." When Yuiko allowed herself to look again, she was back in her body, but Kuwabara was still doing mouth-to-mouth. 

BAM! 

"That's enough!" Yuiko shouted, sending Kuwabara to the floor. Yuiko jumped out of bed and went in the direction of the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, turned the sink on, put her toothbrush under the water, turned the sink off, and started to clean her mouth out very thoroughly. 

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad." Kuwabara commented. Yuiko spit into the sink, turned the sink back on, turned it back off after two seconds, reached for the Listerine, poured some into her mouth, and spent a minute using it. When she spit in the sink again, she turned to Kuwabara. 

"Wasn't that bad? I'll show you bad!" 

Bam! Smack! Pow! 

"Ow! Ow! Okay, okay, it was horrible! Ouch!" 

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Scenes from the next Yu Yu Hakusho: 

"I'm . . . a . . . what?" Yuiko asked dumbfounded, staring at Botan, the little horned, gray creature in her clutches. 

"A Spirit Detective. And Sir Koenma already has your first mission ready." Botan replied. Yuiko sighed. 

"And I thought I wasn't going to have to deal with any more death stuff." Yuiko commented. 


	5. Getting A Mission

Red Roses2: I believe I've decided on the pairing! Won't tell you which one it is, though! :-p Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. And since someone corrected me on spelling (thank you so much, I just couldn't remember what the mirror was called exactly. I just knew it was something forlorn), I have edited this chapter.

* * *

It was a sunny day, and Yuiko was glad to be alive. "Come on, Kuwabara! I want to see Keiko! I've been dead for so long I've forgotten what everything feels like! Maybe the three of us can go get a burger or something and see that movie. I know we were planning on seeing it on Saturday, but we should celebrate on me being back, right?" Yuiko ranted excitedly, running down the sidewalk and jumping up and down from time to time just to make sure she was completely solid. She was wearing an orange waist jacket, blue jeans, and a green tee-shirt. Kuwabara was still in his school uniform. Yuiko turned around and started walking backwards, waiting for Kuwabara the best she could. Walking and nursing bruises on his cheeks wasn't exactly working out for him. 

"Yeah, sure." Kuwabara replied vaguely, his hand covering a particularly black bruise. Suddenly, Yuiko ran into someone behind her. Yuiko twisted her head around to get a better look at the person. 

"Oops, sorry." Yuiko apologized. 

"Quite alright." said the person. Yuiko turned around fully and saw that the person was a red-haired, green-eyed boy in a pink school uniform. Yuiko recognized him instantly as the boy that she had mentioned to Botan. The boy's eyes widened as he took a better look at her. He sensed a major amount of energy erupting from her aura. And it felt very powerful. To Yuiko, the look he was giving her was a dazed look. 

"Uh, are you okay?" Yuiko asked. 

"Oh." the boy sounded, flushing. "Yes, I'm fine." He put on a smile, but Yuiko puzzled him. 

"Hey, Yuiko, why'd you stop? I know you didn't just to wait for me." Kuwabara said, turning the corner and saw Yuiko and the boy. "Hey, you're that guy I ran into yesterday!" 

"How flattering that you remembered me. From what I gathered from our little run-in, you have a short memory span, seeing that you shouted at me for a blunder you made." the boy commented. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at the red-head and growled. 

"Come on, Yuiko. Keiko's not gonna be home all day. You know her. Either sitting at home doing homework, hanging out with you, at school, or at the library." Kuwabara grabbed Yuiko's arm and started pulling her away from the boy. 

"Okay, okay! Don't have to be so rude! Not like you're my older brother or anything!" Yuiko retorted, put her hands into her pocket and they continued to walk. The red-headed boy gazed at them until they were out of sight before continuing on his way. 'Hiei might be interested about this.' the boy thought as he turned the corner Kuwabara had appeared from. 

Meanwhile . . . . . . . 

"You can be such a jerk! Do you know who that was? That was Suiichi Minamino! He's known around here as the smartest student in the entire city, not to mention he's the main talk in the girls' bathroom." Yuiko scolded Kuwabara, who had his arms crossed. She made her voice sound like an excited cheerleader's. '"Oh, Suiichi's so cute!' 'I wish he was my boyfriend!' 'Yeah, me too!' 'Oh, he's so dreamy!' If you want girls like that to like you, you shouldn't have been rude to him the _first_ time you met him!" 

"Since when do you care what they think? You're always saying how those girls aren't even worth listening to, let alone quoting." Kuwabara snapped. 

"Not the point!" Yuiko argued. 

"Then what is the point?" Kuwabara demanded. Yuiko opened her mouth to reply but decided that she was wasting her time so she didn't. They soon reached Keiko's house. Yuiko knocked on the door four times, then Kuwabara did his trademark knocking and ringing the doorbell. After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened and Keiko was standing in the doorway. Yuiko smiled at Keiko and the other girl gasped. 

"Yu-Yu!" Keiko exclaimed, hugging her. Yuiko grinned slightly and didn't push her away like she normally would. 

"How about we go get something to eat?" Yuiko suggested. 

"Okay! Let me get my wallet!" Keiko agreed and ran to get it. In no time, they were walking down the street, trying to decide which restaurant to go to. After they ate (they had decided on pizza) they were walking in the direction of the movies when someone called to them. 

"Young ladies and man!" called a gypsy in an alleyway. "Come here, and see your future!" The gypsy's face was pretty much covered, but they could see blue eyes and that the gypsy was a girl. Yuiko walked forward, but Keiko grabbed her elbow. 

"Yuiko, you're not!" Keiko stated. 

"Oh, come on, what's the harm in just seeing what the old lady thinks is gonna happen?" Yuiko asked. Keiko couldn't think of a retort. Yuiko walked up the gypsy and her table with a crystal ball on it. The gypsy waved her hands around the crystal ball. 

"Oh, spirits, tell me what you see." said the gypsy. Now that Yuiko thought about it, the gypsy sounded familiar. She didn't have time to dwell on this, because of what the gypsy said next. "You have been in the realm of the Spirit World, yes?" Yuiko just stared at her. "I thought so." The gypsy continued to wave her hands around the crystal ball. "Yes, I see, I see indeed." Yuiko leaned forward and squinted her eyes at the crystal ball. 

"What do you see? All I see is swirly white stuff." Yuiko commented. The gypsy ignored her comment. 

"You will fight demons and apparitions in the near future. That is what I see." the gypsy answered. Yuiko blinked. 

"O-kay." Yuiko replied. "Well, see ya later!" Yuiko ran back over to Keiko and Kuwabara. 

"What did she say?" Kuwabara asked. 

"Let's just say, that gypsy was kind of familiar. Like I met her before." Yuiko admitted. 

"That's crazy, Yuiko. If you met someone like that, we'd know, right Kuwabara?" Keiko stated. Yuiko laughed nervously. They hadn't met Botan and Koenma, which was probably a good thing. 

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When they had exited the movie theater, Yuiko and Kuwabara were talking animatedly to one another and Keiko just smiled. "It wasn't my kind of movie, but you two sure liked it, didn't you?" Keiko said. 

"You're just saying that because you don't like violence." Yuiko replied, grinning. "Want us to go home with you?" 

"No thanks. See you tomorrow!" With that, Keiko sprinted off toward her house. 

"See ya, Keiko!" Yuiko and Kuwabara yelled after her. Kuwabara grinned stupidly at Yuiko and Yuiko closed her eyes and frowned. 

"No, you may not walk me home." Yuiko answered the unasked question. "You can go back to your home now." 

"Aw." Kuwabara sounded and he sulked off into the distance. Yuiko smirked and took her time walking home. It was when something strange and unusual ran across the sidewalk that Yuiko stopped dead in shock. The strange and unusual something was a gray imp-looking creature that would barely have been able to reach above Yuiko's ankle with some sort of caveman cloth around his waist. Yuiko walked up to it and picked it up. 

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Yuiko asked. The little imp stared at Yuiko, just as shocked as Yuiko was to find such a creature running across her path. 

"A demon." came a familiar female voice. Yuiko turned to see the gypsy. 

"What do you mean a demon?" Yuiko demanded. The little imp tried to get out of Yuiko's grip, but she only tightened it. 

"I mean that he's a demon, and a wanted criminal in the Spirit World." the gypsy explained. Yuiko narrowed her eyes at the gypsy. Yuiko knew that she had met this gypsy before, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Then it hit her. The female gypsy knew about Spirit World, and Yuiko could see strands of blue hair. 

"Now I know where I've met you before! You're Botan, Keeper of the River sticks! And the most ditzy Grim Reaper I've ever met." Yuiko added thoughtfully. Botan threw off the gypsy attire to reveal herself in a copper-colored waist jacket, blue jeans, and a pink tee-shirt. Yuiko narrowed her eyes even more. "You sort of stole my outfit." 

"It was on accident." Botan snapped indignantly. "And FYI, no one in Spirit World has ever been able to catch that demon, and you did it just by picking him up! Sir Koenma _knew_ you'd be a great Spirit Detective once you came back to life, and he was right!" 

"I'm . . . a . . . what?" Yuiko asked dumbfounded, staring at Botan, the little horned, gray creature in her clutches. 

"A Spirit Detective. And Sir Koenma already has your first mission ready." Botan replied. Yuiko sighed. 

"And I thought I wasn't going to have to deal with any more death stuff." Yuiko sighed. She stuffed the tiny demon into her pocket and followed Botan reluctantly, small retaliations and squeaks coming from her pocket. 

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When Yuiko and Botan returned to Koenma's palace, Botan led Yuiko into a dark room where a white screen stood in front of a wall, Koenma sitting in a chair sullenly. "Ah, Yuiko, you're here." Koenma stated, turning around to her. "Good. I have a mission for you. And don't roll your eyes at me like that!" Yuiko closed her eyes and held her chin up, Koenma glaring at her. 

"It's not that I'm not grateful that you helped me come back to life, but I'd rather not having anything else to do with Spirit World now." Yuiko announced. Koenma ignored her. 

"You have to track down these three demons: Igor, who's known for murder in the files that we've got on him, Hiei who we know nothing about, and Kurama who we also know nothing about." A picture of the three vandals appeared on the white screen and Yuiko gasped. One of the 'demons' was Suiichi Minamoto. 

"Okay, this _has_ to be some kind of prank. That red-head is human. He goes to a high school in my area. He's one of the only things the other girls talk about, and he's the smartest student in the high schools of the city. _And_ his name is Suiichi Minamino, not Igor, or Hiei, or Kurama." Yuiko explained, turning around to leave. 

"Really?" Koenma asked, turning around in his chair to get a better look at Yuiko. "He goes to a high school in your area?" Yuiko nodded. "Have you had any contact with him? Any at all?" 

"Uh, yeah. I bunked into him this morning when I was going to see if Keiko was home with Kuwabara. We had started talking, and if Kuwabara hadn't been such a jerk, he might've wanted to see the movie Keiko, Kuwabara, and I saw with us." Yuiko answered. Koenma made a thoughtful sound. 

"Any other relations with him? And how do you know all of this information about him?" Koenma questioned. Yuiko turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. 

"No, and I've been getting all of this from being forced to listen to gossip in the girls' bathroom at school. The girls there other than me and Keiko practically _live_ in there, swapping gossip and talking about the cutest boys. They've talked about him constantly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from homeroom to the end-of-school bell." Yuiko replied. Koenma made another thoughtful sound. 

"I hadn't any idea. But I'm telling you, this is not a practical joke! This is for real! These three are really demons, unless Hiei and Igor just think that Kurama's a demon when in reality, he's human. Anyway, you've got to stop them! They've stolen three precious items that my father, King Yama, thinks highly of! Those items are:" The picture changed to a black orb with ghostly green spots. "the Spirit Orb," The screen changed again to show a hand-held mirror with a gray handle with gray-green vines adoring it. "the Mirror of Forlorn Hope," The picture changed yet again to show a magnificent sword with a golden hilt with brilliantly red rubies melted into the hilt. "and last, but certainly not least since Father thinks it's the most precious of all the other items, the Shadow Sword. Now go and find these demons!" Koenma snapped. Yuiko stood there and crossed her arms. "What are you waiting for?!" 

"How am I going to be able to fight them? If they're" she raised her hands to make quotation marks. "demons, then won't it be a little hard for me just to fight them with my bare hands?" There was silence. 

"Oh. Er, right. Just hold your arm out!" 

"Which arm?" 

"The one you write with!" Yuiko did as told. "Now tuck in your middle, ring, and that smallest finger as though you're making a fist. Okay, now turn your hand over a little." Yuiko blinked at her hand. It was just a gun made out of her right hand. Like little boys always did when they couldn't get their hands on toy guns. 

"Now what? Am I supposed to poke them to death?" Yuiko asked sarcastically. Koenma glared at her. 

"No. Pretend you're pulling a trigger, and you'll let loose a bullet of energy which will blast your enemy away. But I must warn you, you can only use it once a day." Koenma replied. Yuiko shrugged. 

"Sounds simple enough. Okay, I'm going." Yuiko turned around and walked out the door with Botan. Yuiko was starting to think of how she was going to find three demons when Botan tapped her on the shoulder. 

"You're going to need your gadgets." Botan said. Yuiko raised an eyebrow. "I'll be right back!" Botan then scurried off. Yuiko stood there in the pink-wallpapered hall for fifteen minutes before Botan came back, but she was in her pink kimono and she was carrying a black suitcase. Botan knelt down on the floor, set the suitcase down, and opened it, revealing a wristwatch, a spyglass, and a golden ring. Botan took out the wristwatch and showed it to Yuiko. "This is a Demon Detector Compass. It detects the energy, which is called Spirit Energy, that a demon is casting off and points you in the right direction of where the energy is coming from." Yuiko took the wristwatch from Botan and strapped it on her wrist. It strangely matched her outfit, seeing that the band was black. Botan took out the spy glass. "This is called the Spy Glass. It can look through anything! Walls, the ceiling, the floor, trees, anything!" Yuiko took this as well and put it up to her eye, staring at the wall. Yuiko whistled in awe as she saw Koenma's desk, which was filled up papers to be signed, and two ogres kept bringing in more papers. 

"Koenma has a lot of paperwork." Yuiko commented, pocketing the Spy Glass. 

"And last but not least, this ring!" Botan took out the golden ring and Yuiko took it and examined it. "It can make your Spirit Gun twice as powerful." Yuiko raised an eyebrow again. 

"Spirit Gun? So my weapon has a name?" Yuiko questioned, and Botan nodded vigorously. Yuiko just shrugged in response. 

"Okay then! Ready to kick demon butt?" Botan asked. 

"Sure." Yuiko replied. Botan smiled. 


	6. The Spirit Orb and the Mirror of Forlorn...

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. And some info in this chapter is from the manga.

* * *

The sidewalks were packed and the streets were full of traffic. Yuiko was in the midst of it, the wristwatch that Botan gave her pointing her in the direction of an alleyway. Yuiko walked down it, still staring at the wristwatch. The alleyway was nothing like the street itself. It was empty and dark, and had several big, muscular thugs smoking cigarettes leaning on the walls and trashcans. A few wolf whistles broke out. 

"Hey, hey, baby." 

"Where're you going? The fun's just about to start now that you're here." were just a couple of the catcalls. It wasn't until she walked down to a corner of the alleyway that she stopped. In the corner was a guy in a green shirt with a broad face, and by the looks of his arms, he either fought for a living or worked out at a gym most of the time. Yuiko didn't look impressed. She saw a shadow of horns on the top of his head, but didn't comment. 

The guy didn't seem to have noticed her because he got up and walked down another alleyway connected to that one. Yuiko waited until she could barely hear his footsteps before following, a whistle or two following her. She rolled her eyes at it and gazed at her wristwatch. 

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In a forest, a short man clad in black with spiky black-and-white hair was thrusting a sword out at the air. A red-haired boy in a pink school uniform with green eyes watched this. The red-head was Suiichi. "Hiei, could you please cut it out. I have to tell you something." Suiichi said, the man taking another swing at the air. Hiei stopped and glanced at him. 

"What?" Hiei spat. 

"Have you been sensing powerful energy here? Ever since I bunked into a girl today, it seems there's something here that we overlooked." Suiichi explained. Hiei just shrugged and snorted. 

"A human girl bunked into you and it suddenly seems like something's wrong? What can some human girl do?" Hiei asked cockily. Suiichi watched Hiei out of the corner of his eye. Hiei had a hand on his waist, the sword in the other. 

"It wasn't some girl, Hiei. It was that champion fighter that I mentioned. She's part of her school's wrestling team and is quite something in street fights. It's possible that she could take down a few demons." Suiichi retorted. 

"What class?" Hiei demanded. Suiichi shrugged. 

"Oh, third class. Maybe second." Suiichi replied. Hiei made a disbelieving sound. "She's the strongest human in this city. I'm surprised she hasn't gone to national fighting tournaments yet." 

"She's still just a human." Hiei argued. "How could a human change anything? And in case you forgot, we're not third or second class. _We're_ better." Suiichi shook his head. Before he could say another word, the guy that Yuiko had been following came into the clearing. 

"Hello, Igor." Suiichi greeted. 

"Hn. About time." Hiei said as a greeting. Igor was smirking. "What took you?" 

"Oh, just breakfast. Souls are so delicious." Igor commented, rubbing his stomach. Suiichi, meanwhile, was staring at what was behind Igor. 

"I see you brought company, Igor." Suiichi conversed. Igor raised an eyebrow. 

"What are you talking about?" Igor asked, turning around and seeing an angry Yuiko. "Oh, it's just a human girl." Suiichi hit his forehead. 

"I just went through this with Hiei." Suiichi sighed. The red-head lowered his hand from his face. "Hello, Ms. Urameshi." Hiei and Igor looked amused. 

"Do you have any idea what you have just walked into?" Hiei demanded, brandishing the sword. Yuiko eyed it with curiosity. Yep, it was the Shadow Sword. 

"Yes, I know what I have just walked into. A clearing in the middle of the forest inhabited by two demons who stole precious items of King Yama's, which never gets rained on. FYI, it's raining, and that's one of the reasons how I found this place so easily. The other reason," Yuiko pointed to Igor. "is him being blind." Igor didn't have time to retaliate to her comment. 

"You know King Yama?" Hiei hissed. Yuiko gave him a look that clearly stated, "Well, duh." She took out a little wallet and displayed a Spirit Detective badge that Botan quickly handed her before she left. 

"Just some human girl, huh?" Suiichi asked Hiei, a grin on his face. Hiei glared at him. 

"Take care of her, Igor." Hiei spat, his grip on the Shadow Sword tightening. Suiichi on the other hand sat down and leaned against a tree, apparently thinking that he was about to watch. Hiei disappeared a second later, Igor standing in front of her, cracking his knuckles. 

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Igor said. Yuiko smirked. 

"Do you even know how to do that?" Yuiko asked cockily. Igor glared at her before throwing a punch at her. Yuiko grabbed it and punched him in the stomach. Nothing happened. Yuiko blinked in surprise. Igor then kneed her in the stomach. Pain seared through her and she stumbled backward. 

"Igor, you're so impolite." Suiichi commented. "You should have told her that your outsides are as hard as diamonds." 

"Stay out of this and shut it, Kurama." Igor growled. Yuiko groaned in misfortune. Skin as tough as diamonds? Koenma would have to pay her for this. Yuiko suddenly got an idea. 

"Hey, Igor!" Yuiko taunted. "How about you show me that demon form of yours! Surely demons don't look that much like humans! I've already seen those horns in your head! They make you look like a goat!" Igor growled under his breath. Steadily, his skin turned red, he grew a few feet, his horns were once again visible, and it was obvious that he had a big mouth. The Spirit Orb fell to the ground and landed with a soft thud. Yuiko smirked. Igor ran at her and punched her across the face, making her go flying. Yuiko crashed into a tree and steadily got up. "Ow. Okay, Koenma is so gonna hafta pay me for this." Yuiko stealthily picked up a thick piece of tree trunk and hid it behind her back. Igor ran at her again, but this time, when he got close enough, Yuiko stuffed the piece of tree trunk into his mouth so he'll keep it open. 

"I bet your insides aren't as hard as your outsides, are they?" Yuiko asked, pointing her index finger at his mouth. She took aim and - "SPIRIT GUN!" A scream of agony pierced the air and one of the demons was done with. Yuiko picked up the Spirit Orb, ignoring the pain throbbing in her cheek and stomach. She turned around to Suiichi, only to find that he wasn't there. Yuiko blinked and looked around. He wasn't there anymore. "Where'd he go?" Yuiko stood there for a minute before turning around and leaving the clearing. 

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"Yuiko, why is there a new bandage on your cheek?" Keiko asked Yuiko the next day at school. 

"Yeah, normally you tell us when you're gonna go kicking somebody's butt." Kuwabara stated. Yuiko just stared at the blackboard in front of them with her arms crossed. 

"It's nothing serious." Yuiko replied. The teacher, who has the personality of a monster, came into the room right then and was about to start the lesson when the principal came in. 

"Ms. Urameshi?" the principal asked. The teacher groaned. 

"What has she done this time?" the teacher demanded. Yuiko huffed a little. 

"Nothing. It's just that - she's gotten a letter from Suiichi Minamino." the principal announced. The room went silent. It wasn't until one of Keiko's other friends spoke up that there was any noise at all. 

"What!? Why!?" she shouted. Yuiko stood up, walked over to the principal, and took the letter out of his hand. She opened it up and read it. 

_Yuiko Urameshi, _

Meet me at the hospital three days from now at eight p.m. I will give you the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. No, this is not a trap. I will explain everything then. 

From, Suiichi Minamino (Kurama) 

Yuiko raised an eyebrow at the letter and pocketed it. "Thank you very much, sir." Yuiko replied, bowing slightly. 

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"Are you crazy, Yuiko? How do you know this is not a trap?" Botan exclaimed when Yuiko told her about the letter. 

"He says it isn't. And I'd really like to know why those demons Igor and Hiei think he's a demon too, and why they're calling him Kurama." Yuiko explained for the tenth time. Yuiko sipped the hot chocolate that Mrs. Urameshi had made for her and Botan. "It's driving me nuts and I have a boxing tournament I have to get ready for. It's in a year or two, but I need to be in tip-top shape! And Koenma _is_ paying me to do this, right?" 

Silence. 

"_Right_?" Yuiko pressed, narrowing her eyes at Botan. The Grim Reaper fidgeted in her seat. 

"Well, you see Yuiko, you're the only human Spirit Detective he has, so he hasn't put any thought into it. The rest of his Spirit Detectives are, well, there aren't any. There hasn't been a Spirit Detective since the old Japan days. You know, with carts pulled my oxen." Botan answered. It took Yuiko a minute to process this. 

"WHAT!?" Yuiko yelled, the ground shaking. "You mean I'm supposed to do this for free!?" Botan cringed. 

"Well, I'm sure we can make him pay you. I mean, you're the first Spirit Detective in thousands of years, and you are a valuable person to keep." Botan comforted. Yuiko calmed down and took another sip of hot chocolate. 

"Wait, then does that mean you're not paid?" Yuiko asked. Botan nodded. Yuiko glared at her drink. "Then why are you still working for him?" 

"I guess you could say I'm dead. And it gives me something to do. I've been the Grim Reaper since I was a little kid. I'm not really dead, but I was born in Spirit World, so I'm not sure what that makes me. King Yama had appointed me Grim Reaper, and since he's gone a lot, Koenma is the one who takes care of things." Botan informed. Yuiko made a thoughtful sound and drank the rest of her hot chocolate. 

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Yuiko walked to the local hospital and saw Suiichi standing in front of the doors. He was still wearing his pink school uniform. Suiichi turned around and saw Yuiko. "I'm glad you could make it, Ms. Urameshi." Suiichi greeted. Yuiko shifted uncomfortably. 

"Don't call me that. It makes me sound like I'm old." Yuiko commented as she walked up to him. 

"Sorry, but I'm not a close friend, so I can't call you Yuiko, and just calling you Urameshi sounds disrespectful, in my opinion." Suiichi apologized. "This way." Yuiko followed Suiichi into the hospital. They went up a few floors until Suiichi walked into a room. Yuiko followed him in. In the room was a lady laying on a bed. She had black hair in a ponytail, and scars on her arms. "Hello, Mother." 

"Suiichi, there you are. And who's your friend? This is the first time you've brought company." the lady said, smiling at Suiichi. Yuiko blinked. 

"Mrs. Minamino?" Yuiko asked unsurely. The woman nodded. Suiichi walked up to his mother's bedside. 

"Would you like me to peel an apple for you, Mother?" Suiichi questioned. 

"No thank you, Suiichi." Mrs. Minamino replied. 

"But the doctor said for you to keep up your strength." Suiichi retorted. Yuiko just stood in the corner, out of the way. She felt slightly odd being in this scene. She shifted a little where she was standing and fidgeted with a piece of her super-short hair. 

"Now, Suiichi, please tell me who your friend is." Mrs. Minamino insisted. Yuiko bit her lip gently. 

"I'm Yuiko Urameshi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Minamino." Yuiko introduced herself, still feeling awkward. It was a while before Suiichi and Yuiko felt the room. When they did, Suiichi motioned Yuiko to follow him again. It was silence all the way to where they were going. When they stopped walking, they were on the roof of the hospital. "I don't understand." Yuiko announced, staring at the back of Suiichi's head. "Why did you bring me here to see your mother? What does she have to do with you giving me the Mirror of Forlorn Hope? In fact, what does she have to do with you hanging out and working with two demons that are hungry for people's souls!?" 

"Everything." Suiichi answered. Yuiko raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

"Explain." Yuiko said, her arms crossed. Suiichi didn't turn around to face her. Suiichi took a deep breath and began. 

"I'm not Suiichi Minamino. I am Youko Kurama, expert thief, fox demon. I now this must confuse you. Years ago, I was being hunted down and I took refuge in this world of humans. I took refuge in the body of an infant not yet born. The real Suiichi Minamino, but there is no real Suiichi Minamino because I put my spirit into that body before another spirit could inhabit it. It was an empty shell at the time. I was then reborn by the woman you met down in the hospital room. 

"Do you know why there are scars on her arms?" Yuiko shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see it. She knew that Suiichi, pardon, Kurama knew that she didn't know. "That happened when I was six. I needed to get something for a school project, and I insisted I didn't need any help getting it. It was on a high shelf along with china plates. Right when I was about to grab it, my balance on the stool I was on began to waver, and I began to topple over. I tried to grab onto the shelf, but all I succeeded in doing was causing the china plates to fall. My mother ran to help me, but she tripped and fell. Right into the mess of broken china." Kurama stopped for a moment and Yuiko realized she was holding her breath. She let it out and told Kurama to continue. "When I finally fell onto the floor, I realized what had happened and asked if she was alright. She said everything was just fine, even though her arms were bleeding badly. Every time I see those scars, the painful reminder that it was my fault hits me full blow. Later, my father died, and Mother got very sick. The sickness turned out to be an aftermath of the incident with the broken china. That's why she's here in the hospital. 

"Then I met Hiei. He was looking for someone to help him and Igor steal the items that you were sent to recover. It was what the Mirror of Forlorn Hope does that got me interested. I made an alliance with them and helped them steal the Spirit Orb, the Shadow Sword, and the Mirror. Do you know what that Mirror of Forlorn Hope does?" 

"No." Yuiko answered. 

"It grants wishes to anyone when the moon is full, but at a price." Kurama explained. Yuiko looked up at the sky, as if my instinct, and saw that the moon was full that night. Yuiko looked back at Kurama. 

"And that price is?" Yuiko asked. Kurama turned around to look at Yuiko. Tear stains were on his cheeks, probably from having to relive the bad memories. His voice was calm and dead when he replied. 

"The wish-maker's life." Yuiko stared at Kurama, the moonlight reflected in her eyes. The cold wind made itself known by whooshing and sending a chill down the girl's spine. "Imagine. A person can wish for whatever they want, but if it is a selfish wish like wanting to be the richest man alive, they wouldn't be able to enjoy it." 

"But - but why do you want to use the Mirror of Forlorn Hope? What does it have to do with your mother?" 

"Her sickness is fatal. If it gets a hold of her, she will die. I'm going to use the Mirror of Forlorn Hope to make her better." Kurama took the mirror out of his jacket and showed it to Yuiko. "When I'm done, you can take it to Prince Koenma." 

"You can't do that." Yuiko stated. Kurama didn't reply. He put the Mirror of Forlorn Hope on the ground and knelt down next to it. A voice erupted from it. 

**"What is it that you wish?"** boomed the voice from the Mirror. 

"I wish for my mother to be better." Kurama answered. 

**"Your wish shall be granted."** the voice boomed again. A green light began to flow out of the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. 

"Wait!" Yuiko cried, running over and skirting to a halt, dropping to her knees. "Don't take his life! Take mine!" 

"Are you insane?" Kurama asked. 

"Look, I know what it's like to see a mother grieving over her kid! And I'm not seeing it again! By that story you told me, your mother loves you very much, and she wouldn't want you dead! Trust me!" Yuiko and Kurama stared at each other for a minute before the green light engulfed the entire area. 

When Yuiko was able to see again, she realized she was lying on her back, alive. She sat up and looked over to her right to see Kurama lying on his backside as well. He made a groan and sat up as well. He blinked for a few minutes and they both looked over at the mirror. 

**"By your selflessness, miss, I have made the wish, and allowed you both to keep your lives."** boomed the voice. Yuiko smiled at Kurama and he smiled back. 

"Ah, go see your mother and give her the good news." Yuiko said, nudging Kurama in the arm. Kurama chuckled, got up, and ran over to the door to the stairs. Yuiko watched him go. He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder. 

"Thanks, Yuiko!" Kurama exclaimed over his shoulder and left. Yuiko grinned and picked up the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. Now that it hadn't been about to take a life, it didn't look all that bad. 


	7. The Shadow Sword

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. And Kurama's uniform looks like a dark pink to me. And of course that line of yellow going down the middle. How can anyone miss that? And, that other demon's named Goki? Whoops. (Sweat drops) Too late to change it now. YOU PEOPLE COULD HAVE TOLD ME! And, who said that Keiko needed to be paired up? I'll have enough time on my hands trying to get Yuiko with the guy I have in mind for her, which I have no idea if who he is will change when I actually get to that part! (Groans exasperatedly)

* * *

Yuiko lounged in the easy chair in the living room of the Yukimura residents. Kuwabara and Keiko were trying to study, while Yuiko was going over ways of getting Koenma to pay her in her head. Keiko read a page, glanced over at the seemingly asleep Yuiko, went back to her book, and glanced over at Yuiko again. Kuwabara was too busy reading to glance at anything. 

"Keiko, do you happen to know anything about photosynthesis? Oh, wait, oh yeah, now I remember. Never mind." Kuwabara rambled. Keiko finally snapped her book shut and gazed frustrated-ly at Yuiko. 

"How come you're not studying?" Keiko asked. Yuiko opened one eye to look at Keiko. 

"What?" Yuiko said. Keiko made an exasperated sound. 

"How come you're not studying?!" Keiko repeated. Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura poked their heads into the room to listen. 

"Listen Keiko, I have a lot on my mind at the moment, really. There's not really enough time for me to study at the moment." Yuiko attempted to explain. 

"Like what could possibly be keeping you from studying? Even your wrestling tournaments and stuff related to that don't keep you from studying when there's a test!" Keiko retorted. 

"Well, let's see how you deal with a toddler who keeps barking orders to you, an armed robber who you're supposed to catch, and trying to figure out how you are going to get paid for everything you're doing for the little brat." Yuiko replied. 

"What are you mumbling about?" 

"Nothing, nothing. Nothing at all." Yuiko answered. Her cell phone suddenly rang. She took it out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello?" A smile broke across her face. "Hey, Botan!" Looks of confusion plastered themselves onto Keiko's and Kuwabara's faces. "That's what that freaky item does? I thought it was just prized for the way it looked. Uh huh. Uh huh. Really? People disappearing? I see. Uh huh. Okay. Bye." Yuiko hung up. "Well, I've got to go." 

"Hey!" Kuwabara and Keiko exclaimed as Yuiko crossed the room to leave. 

"Get back here!" Keiko practically shouted. 

"Who's Botan?" Kuwabara questioned, but their answers was the slam of a door closing. 

Yuiko ran down the street and after running past a few blocks, she scooted to a stop in front of Botan. "So, what's the good news?" Yuiko asked. Botan smiled at her. 

"Kurama's not going to jail! He just has to do community service!" Botan answered. 

"Cool!" Yuiko replied, grinning. "That's really great. Especially since he only stole the Mirror of Forlorn Hope to save his mom. So, what did Koenma say?" Botan's smile turned into a frown. 

"He says he's not going to pay you." Botan said truthfully and sadly. 

"WHAT!?" Yuiko screamed. "Why that pacifier-sucking jerk! Just because he's Prince of the Spirit World he thinks he can't pay me!? Why I outta punch his face into his desk!" It took a while for Yuiko to calm down. "He's gonna pay me whether he likes it or not! He hasn't heard the end of this!" Yuiko was breathing heavily now and Botan was surprised that Yuiko knew so many swearwords. "I'm gonna go find that shrimp demon Hiei now. Once I bring in all three items, he's gonna have a piece of my mind and choke on it!" Botan sweat dropped as she watched Yuiko walk off, fuming. 

"I knew she wouldn't have liked the sound of that. Note to self: Never get on her bad side." 

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Keiko and Kuwabara were walking down the street looking for Yuiko. "Where is she?" Kuwabara asked exasperatedly. Keiko was in quite a bad mood because Yuiko wouldn't tell them anything. Keiko couldn't remember Yuiko ever doing that before. "Maybe it's nothing important. Or maybe it's something that she wants to be a surprise. I don't know. It just doesn't seem like her to be so secretive!" Kuwabara rambled to Keiko. Unknown to them, they were being watched. On top of a building five kilometers or so away, Hiei was watching them. Ever since Igor got his butt kicked, Hiei had been digging up as much info as he could without asking humans anything. The only thing he learned was what Kurama told him, and that Kuwabara and Keiko were her only friends. Hiei continued to gaze at them, his blindfold off his forehead to reveal a third eye. It was not red like his other two eyes. It was purple, and seemed to refuse to blink. 

"Which one, which one? Which one would be better?" Hiei asked himself walking along the roof of the building to keep up with Keiko and Kuwabara. 

"So, how long have you known Yuiko?" Kuwabara asked suddenly. Hiei smirked. He was about to get what just might be some valuable information. "I mean, you two were friends before I met either one of you." 

"We met in preschool. Even then she was all about fighting, except her point of view was different. Said she wanted to be like one of the superheroes on television when she grew up." Keiko answered. "Why?" 

"I was just wondering whether we've known her long enough to know for sure that she wouldn't keep things secret." Kuwabara replied. Hiei's smirk grew. He then disappeared from the rooftop. 

-----------------------------------Hours Later----------------------------------------------------------- 

Kuwabara and Keiko sighed. They gave up. They had looked all over the city and they didn't see Yuiko anywhere. They'd have to catch her at school tomorrow. "This is my house. See ya later, Keiko." Kuwabara informed, walking up to the front door. 

"Right. See you." Keiko said, walking down the sidewalk. 'What's up with her? Who's Botan? What did all that on the phone mean?' 

"You'll find out soon enough, Keiko Yukimura." answered a voice from behind her. Keiko turned around to find a short man clad in black with spiky black-and-white hair, white bandana on his forehead, and a sword in his right hand. Hiei took the sword and swung it at Keiko, making a cut on her forehead. Keiko fainted right then, landing his Hiei's arm. "Your dear friend Yuiko will have to fight to get you back, Yukimura. Mark my words." 

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Yuiko sighed, collapsing into a park bench. Botan was already sitting on it. "I couldn't find him. The Detector isn't finding him." Yuiko stated, her elbows on her knees, chin in both her hands. 

"Maybe he's masking his energy." Botan suggested. Yuiko raised an eyebrow. 

"What do you mean he's masking his energy? You could have told me he could do that!" Yuiko exclaimed. Suddenly, a powerful wave of energy made itself known. Botan shivered and Yuiko stood up. "What was that?" 

"I think it's Hiei." Botan replied, hands lightly gripping her arms. 

**_"Urameshi."_** entered a voice into Yuiko's head. Yuiko looked around the area. The voice sounded familiar, and it was male, but it wasn't Kuwabara or Koenma and it couldn't have been Kurama. **_"Urameshi, if you want Yukimura back, you'll come to the Hell Housing as fast as you can with the Spirit Orb and the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. Get over here or I'll cut your friend's head off."_** Yuiko stiffened. She had pinpointed whose voice it was, and the fact that Hiei had Keiko wasn't helping her shock that Hiei could send telepathic messages, which this obviously was. 

"Come on, Botan! We have to go to the Hell Housing!" Yuiko said suddenly. Botan looked up at her curiously. 

"Why?" Botan asked. 

"Hiei says he's got Keiko." Yuiko answered and ran off toward her house. "He wants us to bring the items!" 

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Yuiko kicked the door to the Hell Housing open. The Hell Housing was an old abandoned shed that was littered with boxes. Botan was right being Yuiko, the Orb and Mirror in her hands. "HIEI!" Yuiko yelled into the darkness. "COME OUT HERE! WE'VE GOT THE STUPID ITEMS!" Hiei stepped into the light, smirking, his left hand tightly gripping the back of Keiko's collar, allowing the rest of Keiko to hang limply on the spot. 

"Good. Hand over the items and you get your friend back." Hiei reasoned. 

"I have a better idea." Yuiko commented. Hiei's smirk disappeared. 

"Hn. It's bad enough when demon females get an attitude. First tell me this idea, and if I think it's worth while, I'll consider it." 

"We fight for them. If you win, you get the items and get out of here without a detective on your tail. Since you'll most likely have no use for Keiko after this, she'll be out of your grimy hands. But if I win, you hand over the Shadow Sword, Keiko, and hand yourself over to me, so I can get Mr. Diaperpants to give me a paycheck." Hiei seemed to be thinking about her offer. 

"Alright. I see not all of you humans are a waste of time. But," Hiei's smirk was back. "I'm afraid you're wrong about Yukimura." 

"What are you talking about?" Yuiko demanded. 

"See the slit on her forehead?" Hiei asked, holding up Keiko's head. "When it opens up, you'll see an eye there. When the eye opens up, she will be my demon servant forever. I guess that'll give your assistant over there something to do, won't it?" Hiei chuckled and threw Keiko over to the side. Yuiko gritted her teeth and growled. Botan ran over to Keiko, set the items down, made her hands hover over Keiko's forehead, and what seemed to be electricity was keeping the now trying-to-open eye from opening. "Let the fighting begin." Hiei disappeared from where he was standing. Yuiko blinked in confusion, but received a blow to the head from behind her. Yuiko hit the floor and turned around to see Hiei standing there. 

"How -?" Yuiko started, but didn't finish. She got up and made to punch him, but when she landed the punch, she realized it was only an after image. 'He moves fast.' she thought. 

"You're just realizing that?" Hiei commented. Yuiko looked around before where Hiei must be finally hit her. She heard the unsheathing of a sword and leaped away from the spot that she was standing on. Hiei fell from the ceiling, the Shadow Sword now stuck in the floor. Yuiko placed a hand on her hip as she watched him try to pull it out. 

"One question." Yuiko stated. Hiei glared at her. "How do I get _rid_ of the eye?" Hiei began to chuckle evilly. 

"The only way to do that is to give her the antidote in the hilt of the Shadow Sword, seeing that it was the thing that put Yukimura in this position in the first place. Meaning you'll have to get the sword in order to save your friend. HIYAH!" Hiei pulled out the Shadow Sword with a shout and turned to Yuiko, only to realize that she wasn't standing there any more. Hiei looked around and ran toward a cardboard box. He raised the Shadow Sword so that he could pierce the box. He drove the sword down, and tried to pull it up, but something was stuck on it. "Let go, Urameshi, or I can't kill you correctly." Yuiko stood up from inside the box, the end of the sword clamped between her hands. Yuiko glared at him and turned the sword so that Hiei's arm started twisting painfully in a direction it wasn't meant to be twisted in. 

"Hn." Hiei grunted. He threw a punch at her, which she dodged, still holding onto the sword. He then tried to swing her legs out from under her, but she jumped up, making that slightly impossible. Hiei forced himself not to wince that the incredible pain in his arm as Yuiko turned the sword even more, blood from her hands oozing onto the blade. Hiei then got an idea. He pushed the sword forward. Yuiko jumped high onto a stack of boxes, forcing herself not to cry out in pain thanks to what Hiei's action had done to her hands. There was a tear in her shirt where the intestines were, but not a scratch on her skin. Yuiko growled tiger-like and got into a fighting stance, blood trickling down her arm. Hiei leaped up to where she was and it was a matter of striking and blocking from then on out. Hiei would make to stab Yuiko with the Shadow Sword, Yuiko would kick it in a different direction away from her. Yuiko would punch at him, Hiei would stop her punch with the flat part of the sword. 

Over where Botan was, she was having trouble keeping the third eye on Keiko's forehead closed. Botan bit her lip nervously as the third eye opened up slightly. 'If Keiko's third eye opens up and makes her a demon, Yuiko will kill me! If she doesn't kill Hiei first that is.' Botan thought as she increased her effort in keeping the eye closed. 

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In Koenma's palace, Koenma was watching the fight through a television screen on the wall opposite his desk. Koenma was tapping his desk with a pen nervously. Yuiko was having quite the problem with Hiei. "Her hands are all bloodied up from that tactic of twisting the arm that Hiei had the Shadow Sword in, and she can't do any damage to him while he has that sword, and he's too fast for her Spirit Gun to hurt him." Koenma muttered to himself. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I know she's good at fighting, her personality profile in Botan's manual says so, but is this too much for her? Alone that is." Koenma pressed a button on his desk and an intercom appeared in front of him. "Ogre!" Koenma snapped into it. 

"Yes sir?" came the reply. 

"Get Kurama up here!" Koenma answered. "He needs to go and help Yuiko!" 

"Right away, Koenma sir." said the ogre on the other end. Koenma pressed the button again and the intercom disappeared. 

"I hope having Kurama for help will do some good." Koenma mumbled to himself as he continued to watch. 

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Yuiko dodged Hiei's sword yet again and jumped away from him. She was breathing heavily. His black jacket had been thrown to the floor and his shirt was torn so it looked like a vest, revealing a well-developed chest. Hiei stopped to breath too. 'She's more powerful than Kurama gave her credit for.' Hiei thought. 'I'm actually breaking a sweat and having trouble breathing while moving!' Yuiko got into another fighting stance. Hiei noticed this, but did nothing. Yuiko was glowering at him. 

'Damn, why'd he have to have such nice abs?' Yuiko thought to herself. 'Even in those swim trunk commercials, the guys aren't that attractive with their chests showing.' 

"Consider yourself lucky, Urameshi." Hiei announced. Yuiko blinked. His energy was rising rapidly. "I've never had to use my true form for a human." Hiei's skin started to change from peach to green, eyes appearing all over. His shirt got torn to pieces, making Yuiko flush slightly. A cry of pain came from Botan. Yuiko turned around to see dark shadows attacking Botan's hands. 

"Auh! It feels like glass is penetrating my skin!" Botan exclaimed, wincing. Yuiko turned back to Hiei. 

'Attractive or not, he's going down!' Yuiko thought, running at him. Hiei blinked in surprise and was taken aback. He had invaded her thoughts to find out what she was playing to do next and heard that last thought. He was shocked for a second too long. She ended up punching him across the face. Yuiko ran at him again, about to grab the Shadow Sword, but stopped when she realized that Hiei was running at her as well. Yuiko was about to block the attack when a pink, peach, and red blur shot in front of her, taking the blow. "Kurama!" Yuiko practically shouted. Hiei just stared at Kurama. 

"You took my killing strike, you traitor!" Hiei accused. Kurama, who was wincing from the pain, opened an eye and glared at Hiei. 

"You won't defeat her that easily, Hiei." Kurama stated. Yuiko was staring thunderstruck at the Shadow Sword. It went straight through his body! 

"K-Kurama!" Yuiko gasped weakly. Yuiko suddenly gritted her teeth, moved from behind Kurama, and punched Hiei right in the nose. Hiei went flying onto the floor and wasn't able to recollect himself before Yuiko was on top of him, beating the crud out of him. "How dare you!? First you attack Keiko and do that turning into a demon thing to her, then you make it harder for Botan to keep that stupid eye closed, and now you did that to Kurama?!" Yuiko pulled Hiei up by the neck and punched where the middle of his bandana was. Hiei cried out from pain and Yuiko dropped him. He was grabbing his forehead and seemed to be forcing himself not to roll around on the ground like a dog. 

"You punched his weak spot." Kurama informed. "Behind that bandana is his Jagan Eye, also known as the Evil Eye. It allows him to see long distances as far as two hundred kilometers. It's the only eye on his body, that doesn't belong, that really matters. The others are just for show." Yuiko turned to Kurama, ran over to him, and pulled the Shadow Sword out of his gut. 

"Are you okay?" Yuiko asked worriedly. 

"I'm fine. It didn't harm any organs." Kurama replied, smiling. Yuiko still looked at him like a worried mother. 

"But you're bleeding really bad!" Yuiko almost yelled. Remembering that she and Hiei had a deal, she turned back to the demon. "I won. Stay there and don't move." 

"I'll make sure he doesn't." Kurama said. "You take care of Yukimura." Yuiko nodded and ran over to Keiko and Botan. She unscrewed the hilt from the Shadow Sword and poured a few drops of yellow liquid into Keiko's mouth. 

"There! Mission accomplished!" Botan commented happily. Yuiko smiled at Botan. 

"You get something to bandage up your hands while I go and arrest Hiei. And most likely try and stop the bleeding of Kurama's wound as well." Yuiko replied, turning back to Kurama and running over to help him. 

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Next Time on Yu-Yu-Hakusho: 

Hey there, it's me, Yuiko. Stupid Koenma put me on another mission before I could punch his lights out for not paying me! If there wasn't the upside of possibly getting trained by the famous martial arts teacher Genkai, I wouldn't be doing this! Why do I have to do this? Well, there's this evil guy that's killed ninety-nine psychics, and Genkai's supposed to be the next one on his list. And guess who I meet there? Kuwabara! Man, do I have some explaining to do when he starts questioning me about Botan. Lots of fighting and an annoying best friend is coming your way on the next Yu-Yu-Hakusho! 


	8. Master Genkai

Red Roses2: (Blushes from praise) Quit it, TonyDiMerasbedroomslave. You're embarrassing me! No, people, the pairing is a surprise. You'll just have to read between the lines. And you guys can call Yuiko Yui if you want. Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho, and Genkai would have to be one of my most favorite characters next to Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara. Yuiko's next mission, take one!

* * *

Yuiko stomped down the hall of Koenma's and King Yama's palace toward Koenma's office. Hiei had just been through his trial and was thrown in jail. Yuiko, Kurama, and Botan had sat through the trial to give details. Yuiko kicked the doors open to Koenma's office with a bang and made her way up to Koenma's desk. "Koenma!" Yuiko shouted. Koenma turned around in his chair to see a very angry Yuiko. "It's time we had a talk about payment!" 

"Not right now, Yuiko. I have another mission for you that can't wait." Koenma replied. Yuiko grabbed the front of Koenma's shirt. 

"And this can't wait either!" Yuiko yelled in his face. She practically had steam puffing out of her ears because she was so mad at him. 

"It can once I tell you what your mission is." Koenma assured. Yuiko glared at him. 

"Prove it." Yuiko spat. Koenma showed her an important document labeled **Spirit Detective Mission**. Yuiko snatched it from his hand and read it. Her expression changed from angry to curious, and then to excited. "Genkai? The greatest martial arts master of all time is wanting a student to teach everything she knows to?" 

"Yes. You will be going to try and get picked to be her student. You _have_ to get picked. There's a very dangerous demon named Rando who has killed ninety-nine psychics after he learned everything he needed to know from them. The next psychic on his list is Genkai. Well, she's not really a psychic, but she's very powerful. You need to leave right away so that you can get there before it's too late for you to be a candidate for the position." Koenma explained. 

"Okay then." Yuiko said, turning around to leave. "We'll talk about my payment when I come back!" 

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Yuiko ran up a steep hill to Genkai's temple. She checked her watch. 'Oh man! I'm going to be late! And if I'm late, I don't have a chance at being her student!' Yuiko thought. "Come on legs! Pick up the pace!" Yuiko begged her legs panicky-like. When she reached the top of the hill, she spotted a huge crowd in front of Genkai's temple. Yuiko squeezed herself into it. There were whispers all around, and some guys in suits were mumbling some things to each other. The guys in suits seemed to be security guards or something of the sort. Yuiko heard something from their conversation that sounded like, "Most of these people don't even know who Genkai is. They just heard that she's only the most powerful fighter human-kind knows about." Yuiko huffed a little. _She_ knew who Genkai was at the age of seven! 

Yuiko continued to make her way through the crowd. She didn't expect to get shouted at by a familiar voice. "Hey, Yuiko!" called Kuwabara's voice. Yuiko turned around and saw the carrot top pushing his way toward her. Yuiko sweat dropped. 

"Hey Kuwabara." Yuiko greeted. 

"I didn't know you were here!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "When you think about it, I haven't seen you in quite awhile. I mean, you're starting to skip school! And that's not like you!" 

"I have other things to do, okay?" Yuiko explained. Kuwabara looked like he was about to say something else when all the whispering around them stopped. Yuiko put her hand on Kuwabara's mouth to keep him from saying anything and couldn't help but smile. Genkai had appeared. Kuwabara noticed Genkai too and straightened himself up. Genkai was a woman, just like Yuiko. She had grayish pink hair, mud brown eyes, wore a martial arts outfit, and wore a purple hat on her head. Her skin was beginning to wrinkle, and since Yuiko knew she was over something like fifty or a number in that area, she didn't look all that old. 

"Hello fighters. I see that you all want to have a piece of this old lady. Unfortunately, only some of you will be able to contend to be my student. Some of you will have to go home right now." Genkai announced. Yuiko frowned. What did she mean by that? "All of you will come up here and pull a slip of paper from this basket." Genkai pointed to a humongous basket that Yuiko had no idea how anyone of normal strength and size could carry, not to mention someone as short as Genkai. The lady was what? Only half Yuiko's size? "Come on! I don't have all day!" Kuwabara and Yuiko started running up there to be the first ones. "I see that two of you really want to be trained. Spoke too soon, make that three." Yuiko glanced over her shoulder to see a little guy with black hair and large eyes running at a very fast pace. Yuiko was the one who reached the basket first, though. She put her hand in it and pulled out a red slip of paper. Genkai smiled. "If you get a red slip of paper, you are still a contender." Yuiko grinned and waved the red slip into Kuwabara's face. Kuwabara grumbled to himself and put his hand in the basket too. He pulled a slip out and it was red as well. 

"Hah!" Kuwabara shouted, rubbing it in Yuiko's face. "I'm still a contender!" 

"Yeah, but not for long!" Yuiko retorted. "I'm gonna kick your sorry butt!" 

"Wanna bet?" Kuwabara asked. Genkai shook her head at how childish they were acting. The little boy that had been running at the basket too finally reached it and put his hand in. He got a red slip too. The other fighters came up, but only a few of them got red slips. 

"Okay. Those that have red slips, follow me." Genkai instructed and turned around. 

"This isn't fair!" complained one of the fighters. "I came from the Swiss Alps and I'm not getting booted out that easily!" Genkai turned to glare at him. 

"I don't care if you came from the center of the Earth! None of those slips of paper were originally red. They turn red if the person who is holding it has high spirit awareness! Yours didn't turn red, meaning you'd be a waste of my time! Now get out!" Genkai explained angrily, turned on her heel and walked into the temple. "Those that _do_ have red slips, follow me! _Now_!" Yuiko jogged up next to Genkai, followed by the other contenders. They walked in silence until they entered a room full of video games you'd find in an arcade. 

"Whoa." was the comments that came from everyone minus Genkai. Genkai looked over at them, a serious look on her face. 

"There are three games here that you must take in order to continue on. There's the ro-sham-bo game (for those of you who are not Japanese, that's rock paper scissors), the punching game, and the karaoke game. Don't touch the rest of them. You must win at least two or say good bye just like the weaklings back in the yard. Now start!" Yuiko stepped up to a punching game and Kuwabara to a ro-sham-bo game. Yuiko almost broke the punching game with just one punch, and Kuwabara beat the ro-sham-bo game easily. Kuwabara was about to step up to the singing game, when Yuiko, panic-stricken, grabbed the back of his shirt and pushed him to the punching game. 

"We don't need your horrible singing here, Kuwabara!" Yuiko declared. 

"Hey!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I resent that!" Yuiko rolled her eyes. Suddenly, someone started singing with a terrible voice. Yuiko and Kuwabara covered their ears. "And you said mine was bad!" 

Eventually, everyone was done playing the games. Even fewer people were left. Yuiko and Kuwabara were among them. With them was a young boy, a bald man who looked like a ninja, a rugged man, and a few others. 

"Now, for the fights that will narrow you down to one person only. I don't care how you win, as long as you do." Genkai informed. Yuiko gulped slightly. "Follow me." 

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Hey, it's me, Kuwabara. I know I'm normally not doing this, but anyway, Yuiko and I really kick butt in the next episode, and I finally get to find out who Botan was! I didn't know Yuiko had a job, let alone that it was a detective job. And I learn a new trick! I won't tell you what it is, though, so you'll have to find out on the next Yu-Yu-Hakusho! 

Red Roses2: Uh, guys? I forget the names of the other fighters other than Rando's. I don't even remember his disguise name. Can you help me out? And, I've kinda been thinking . . . . IF it turned out to be Yuiko/Koenma, would you guys hurt me and demand I change it to something else? I'm not saying it's gonna happen, I've just been thinking about it since this morning. (Sweat drops) Don't hurt me. 


	9. Fights for Master Genkai

Red Roses2: (Sweat drops and laughs nervously) Okay! No Yuiko/Koenma! I get it! Thank you for the names! Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. I apologize if I get people mixed up. I only recognize Yuiko's fighters. And I can barely remember Kuwabara's first fight in this! Sorry if it's so short you can't even believe it!

* * *

Yuiko looked around. The room where they were going to fight was pitch dark. Yuiko just blinked for a few seconds until her eyes adjusted. "I-is this where we're gonna fight?" Kuwabara asked Genkai in an almost scared voice. 

"What's the matter, Kuwabara? Afraid of the dark?" Yuiko questioned. 

"No!" Kuwabara shouted. Yuiko covered one ear and rubbed her hand over it. Man, could he yell. Genkai turned to Kuwabara, though they couldn't see. 

"Yes, you eight are going to fight here. How about we let the buffoon go first." Genkai answered. "Kuwabara! You and Kuroda!" Kuwabara blinked in surprise. Footsteps were heard from behind them and whoever this Kuroda person was apparently was walking ahead of Kuwabara. 

"You coming or what, kid?" Kuroda asked. 

"Who are yeh callin' a kid!?" Kuwabara yelled, Yuiko covering her ear again. Kuwabara stomped over to the middle of the room, Kuroda already there. Kuwabara just didn't know that. "I'll show yeh who's the kid!" Kuwabara ran at where he hoped Kuroda was and punched, only to scream in agony. Yuiko's eyes widened. She still wasn't able to see anything, but that was definitely Kuwabara screaming like a girl. 

"What happened?" Yuiko questioned herself aloud. Genkai prodded Yuiko's hand with something and Yuiko took it. 

"It's a flashlight. You can use it to locate your friend." Genkai explained. Yuiko found the switch on it, turned the flashlight on, and searched for Kuwabara. She soon found him and saw blood dripping onto the floor. 

'He must have a weapon.' Kuwabara thought. 'But which weapon?' 

"Give up on what hurt you?" Kuroda asked. Kuwabara growled. "I used a sword. It's supernatural, just like the Shadow Sword." Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. 

"The Shadow Sword? What's that?" Kuwabara stupidly inquired. Yuiko gasped. 

"What's the stupid effect!?" Yuiko demanded, her voice echoing in the pitch-black room. Kuroda chuckled and didn't answer. Kuwabara tripped while he was trying to figure out where Kuroda was now, and Kuroda, who was attacking him with his sword, missed. Kuwabara stood up, unaware that he was holding a small wooden stick that looked like a hilt of a sword. 

"Let's hope this is a metal poll!" Kuwabara shouted, running at where Kuroda had been heard to be last. "HIYAH!" Kuwabara brought down his 'weapon' and something incredible happen. An orange light shaped like the blade of a sword came out from Kuwabara's hands (he was holding the wooden hilt with both hands) and a scream of bloody murder filled the air. Kuwabara brought his weapon up. "Hey, Yuiko! Point that flashlight over here!" Yuiko did as told, and wished she hadn't Kuroda's arm from the shoulder was half cut off. 

"Ew!" Yuiko and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison. "Gross!" 

"Kuwabara's the winner!" Genkai announced, smirking. 'He must have had that power all along. Just needed a boost, I suppose.' Kuwabara came back over to Yuiko. 

"How'd you make that sword?" Yuiko asked. 

"That's what I want to know." Kuwabara replied. 

"Well, I know you used Spirit Energy to make it, I'm just wondering if you could have done it, why you didn't do it before now." Yuiko explained. 

"Huh? You lost me. What's Spirit Energy?" Kuwabara questioned. Yuiko sweat dropped. 

"I'll tell yeh later." Yuiko answered. The remaining people minus Yuiko and some guy in a weird helmet fought next, the victors being the boy, whose name turned out to be Shorin, and a man whose named was Kazemaru. 

"Urameshi! Kibano! You're up!" Genkai snapped. Yuiko quietly walked to the middle of the room after handing Genkai the flashlight back, and Kibano loudly followed Yuiko. Before Yuiko was able to sense where he was in the room, Kibano hit Yuiko in the mouth, sending her to the ground. Yuiko got back up and ran at him, only to have him dodge and kick her. 

'That can't be. I'm being as quiet as I can.' Yuiko thought. 

"Yuiko! That helmet allows him to see in the dark!" cried a very familiar female voice. Yuiko, shocked that she was here, made sure she gave Kibano a good kick before replying. 

"Botan!? What are you doing here!?" Yuiko yelled, getting hit by Kibano one more time. 

"I'll tell you in a minute! Just break the helmet!" Botan shouted over to her. 

"Hey! That's cheating!" Shorin exclaimed. Botan froze and sweat dropped, laughing nervously. 

"Sorry, but if you ask me, that helmet is a way of cheating too." Botan said. Kuwabara was standing there completely confused. 

"You're that Botan person that Yuiko got a call from?" Kuwabara asked. Botan nodded. 

"I'll explain who I am to you later, Kuwabara." Botan replied. Kuwabara blinked in shock. 

"YOU'VE TOLD THIS STRANGE GIRL WHO I AM!?" Kuwabara practically screamed. Botan covered her ears. Yuiko, deciding to take a risk, made her hand and arm as though she were holding a gun. 

"SPIRIT GUN!" Yuiko shouted. The blue light bullet shot from Yuiko's index finger and hit Kibano squared in the face, or should it be squared in the helmet? It broke the helmet in two. Yuiko then ran at Kibano and gave him all that he was worth. It wasn't until she was sure he wasn't going to get up again that she went back over to Kuwabara and Botan. "Now will you tell me what you're doing here?" Yuiko questioned Botan. 

"Koenma wanted me to. He saw what predicament you were in, and we know you can't lose, so he wanted me to help." Botan answered. She didn't expect a small silence before Yuiko started shouted at the top of her lungs, going on about how little talking employee-hiring toddlers shouldn't jump to conclusions and that she would have figured out a way to beat Kibano with or without the information about the helmet. Botan just stood there, sweat dropping and smiling. Kuwabara just stared at Yuiko confusedly, terrified, and nervously all at once. When Yuiko stopped, she was panting like a dog. 

"Er - who's Koenma?" Kuwabara asked hesitantly. It was a moment before Kuwabara's question was answered. 

"Koenma is my boss." Yuiko admitted, her hands in her pockets. Kuwabara's jaw dropped. 

"Your boss? Since when do you have a job!?" Kuwabara exclaimed. Genkai had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. 

"You three can continue chatting on our way out of here." Genkai said curtly, leading the way by flashlight. Yuiko, Botan, Kuwabara, Shorin, and Kazemaru followed her, Yuiko and Botan explaining to Kuwabara everything that happened from when Yuiko got run over by the car to the present. 

"Whoa. So you're a Spirit Detective? And you fight demons and retrieve stolen artifacts?" Kuwabara replied. 

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Yuiko said. They walked into daylight, and it was now possible to see Yuiko's flushed face. 

"Okay. So, if you're here under orders, then what's going on?" Kuwabara stated. Yuiko sighed. 

"There's an evil demon named Rando who wants Master Genkai's powers and will kill her when he's done with his learning and training. I'm here to stop that." Yuiko whispered. "And besides," she continued in a louder voice. "I'd still be here if it wasn't for that, anyway." Genkai led the small group to a large patch of dirt. Genkai turned around to face them. 

"On this very spot, several warriors have died and have been wounded. You are to fight to whatever means necessary right here. I don't care how you win as long as you do. Even if it is by a fluke." Genkai explained. "Kazemaru! Urameshi! You first!" Yuiko and Kazemaru walked to the middle of the grass-barren area. 

"Say your prayers, missy. Because you won't be getting to the next round." Kazemaru commented. Kuwabara laughed. 

"He obviously doesn't know her very well." Kuwabara announced. 

"You're absolutely right." Botan agreed, grinning. (It's basically the same fight, so it won't be put in. Long story short, Yuiko wins because she is almost drowned in mud.) 

"Patuui! Yuck! Why couldn't it have been a stream? At least it's cleaner." Yuiko complained, wiping mud off her face. Genkai smirked. Yuiko was starting to grow on her. 

"Kuwabara! Shorin! Start now!" Genkai barked. (Also same fight. Kuwabara loses and almost gets his back broken, not to mention his ribs, making it so he can't sit up.) Yuiko glared at Shorin. 

"That's it, Shorin! You're going down! Or should I say Rando?" Yuiko shouted at him. Shorin smirked and smoke filled the air. 

"On the contrary, I'm going to kill you before you even know what's coming at you next." came a deeper, calmer, more evil-sounding voice. (Same fight, Yuiko wins, and get to be Genkai's assistant.) 

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Red Roses2: (Sweat drops) My memory failed me. (Sighs) You won't hold that against me, will you? I don't have any of the episodes on tape or DVD, and I don't have any of the graphic novels yet. But I'll remember more on the other adventures! I promise! (Bows Japanese style) I have no excuse for my poor memory! Please forgive me! You guys will still give nice, kind reviews, right? (Looks worried) 


	10. The Gate of Betrayal

Red Roses2: I believe I have chosen the pairing! It's going to be (Dramatic Pause) Yuiko/Kurama! If you REALLY, REALLY wanted it to be Yuiko/Hiei, well, Hiei will kinda act like an over-protective big brother in the Dark Tournament when certain fighters start flirting with her. Whoever can guess who I'm talking about gets plushies of the entire Team Urameshi! I'm making the main characters all be like a family so everybody's happy, and I can stop daydreaming of romances that I know you guys would hate. The only guy on the Team that I haven't thought of Yuiko with would have to be Kuwabara, and I think that's only because of Yukina! Talk about weird. Anyway, I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho, okay? Don't sue me!

* * *

It has been months since Yuiko won the right to train with Genkai. Keiko, who was still out of the bubble, became very frustrated with Yuiko's absence and mad at Kuwabara since he wasn't saying anything to her about where Yuiko was. Mrs. Urameshi had no idea where Yuiko was either, and if Yuiko hadn't been calling every three weeks, she'd be crying her eyes out. When Yuiko finally did come back from Genkai's, she received an unexpected greeting. 

Yuiko walked into school in a green version of the boys' uniform. Everyone was surprised since she normally only wore green jeans instead of the blue pleated skirt. Yuiko stepped into Homeroom and got stared at from everyone, especially the teacher. Kuwabara was the first to say something, and it didn't take more than a few seconds. 

"Hey, Yu-Yu!" Kuwabara exclaimed, running over to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "About time! I thought you were going to end up living up there!" Yuiko politely removed Kuwabara's arm and smirked. 

"Some people would have liked that, wouldn't they?" Yuiko commented. Keiko finally stood up and stomped over to Yuiko. The two girls held each other's gaze for a minute before Keiko slapped Yuiko across the face. It left a pink hand print but Yuiko showed no signs of feeling anything. 

"Where were you!?" Keiko demanded. Yuiko shrugged. 

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Keiko." Yuiko replied in an obviously fake oblivious tone. Keiko huffed and slapped her other cheek, Yuiko's face still not allowing the expression of pain which everyone watching was expecting. "Look, I know you were worried, but there's nothing to tell you about. I'm here now, and the past is the past, so get over it." Yuiko then took her seat, the window on one side, Kuwabara on the other. 

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A few days later, Yuiko, Kuwabara, and Keiko were walking around the city, trying to find something to do, when an odd looking bug flew past Yuiko's face. Yuiko watched it fly away, and turned to the other two. "Did you guys see that insect?" she asked. 

"Yeah." Kuwabara answered. Keiko huffed again, like she always did whenever the two fighters kept on talking about some Genkai person. 

"_I_ don't see anything. Is this some secret way of talking amongst yourselves without me knowing what you're saying?" Keiko said. Yuiko stared blankly at Keiko. 

"What do you mean you didn't see it?" The detective set her thumb and index finger three margins apart from each other. "It was _this_ big!" Kuwabara made a surprised sound (gasped would probably be the wrong word to use here) and pointed behind Yuiko. Yuiko turned around and gaped at the thousands of insects flying everywhere. "What the hell?" 

"Yuiko! Kuwabara!" Botan's voice filled the air. Yuiko and Kuwabara turned toward the source and saw Botan running toward them, the Grim Reaper in her pink shirt, blue jeans, and brown waist jacket. "I need your help! Come on!" Botan stopped when she saw Keiko. Botan shrieked slightly in a surprised way and sweat dropped. "Oops." 

"Okay." Yuiko stated, her expression becoming serious and set. "See you later, Keiko." Yuiko grabbed Kuwabara's wrist and dragged him away from his insect-gazing. 

"Hey!" Keiko shouted. "What do you mean 'see you later, Keiko'!?" The brunette looked really mad. Her pigtails seemed to be lifted up by the angered energy being eradicated from her. 

"Sorry, but it's an emergency! I promise I won't take so long to come back!" Yuiko called over to her while running off with Botan, Kuwabara still being dragged. Keiko stood there, glaring at Yuiko's back like a little sister would when left at home while her older sister was allowed to go somewhere without her. 

"If you take more than two days to come back, you'll be sorry, Yuiko Urameshi!" Keiko screamed at the retreating trio before turning on her heel, stomping toward home. 

Yuiko, Kuwabara, and Botan ran to an abandoned warehouse before they stopped. "Botan, what's going on?" Kuwabara questioned, panting and putting his hands in his pockets. Botan pushed a compact into Yuiko's hand before explaining. 

"The insects that you've seen flying around are Makai Insects. They can be controlled by a whistle that is currently in the hands of one of the Four Saint Beasts, a group of demons that are too dangerous to be left to do their own bidding. The demon is making the insects go after humans and turn them into violence-seeking monsters." Botan paused to allow Yuiko to gasp and Kuwabara to yell what at the top of his lungs. "The reason this demon is doing this, is so that Koenma-sama removes this force field surrounding where the Four Saint Beasts live, but doing that would cause chaos to Demon, Spirit, and Human World, and maybe the end of Human World. It's up to you and, if Kuwabara wants to help, him to go to the house of the Four Saint Beasts, get the whistle, break it, and restore order to Human World." Botan took a deep breath before continuing with a brighter note in her voice, making her sound much more hyper. "And the compact I gave you, Yuiko, is a Communication Mirror! You and I can keep in contact with it. I have one too! Now, let me show you to your portal to Demon World!" Botan jogged into the warehouse, Yuiko and Kuwabara following. Inside, on the floor, was a pink, purple, yellow, and sky blue colored portal. Yuiko cocked her head to the side and Kuwabara knelt down to get a better look at it. "All you have to do is jump in and poof! You're in Demon World!" Botan grinned at them. 

"Alright!" Kuwabara exclaimed, standing up. "I'm coming with! By what Botan called them, there's four of these demons. Four against one isn't fair, no matter how strong the one is!" Kuwabara jumped into the portal, but not before saying, "Geronimo!" Yuiko sweat dropped before leaping into it herself. 

"Cowabunga!" Yuiko cried by instinct. She felt like hitting herself after saying that, but since she ended up landing face down on the earth of Demon World, she didn't think she needed to inflict any more pain, even though it didn't really hurt. She stood up and gaped at what was in front of her. A dark castle stood in the distance, and fields of monsters were all the way there. Kuwabara was shaking next to her. 

"I thought we only needed to fight the Four Saint Beasts!" Kuwabara whined. Yuiko narrowed her eyes, partly to concentrate, and partly out of annoyance. Before she could make a snappy reply, part of the demon army in front of them fell to the ground in a bloody heap. The rest of the army flew, ran, or crawled away as fast as they could. Standing in the middle of the bloody mess was Kurama and Hiei. Yuiko suddenly smiled. 

"Hey! Kurama!" Yuiko greeted, running over to the red-head. She gave him a high five. Kurama smiled at the detective, his green eyes sparkling with a friendly welcome. "How are you and your mom doing?" 

"Just fine, Yuiko. And so is Mother. You?" Kurama asked. 

"As okay as a girl can be when she's about to fight Four Saint Beasts which she knows absolutely nothing about. I mean, who she knows absolutely nothing about." Yuiko corrected herself, grinning with embarrassment. Kurama was, after all, the smartest boy in town. Kurama's smile widened. Yuiko turned her gaze onto the glowering Hiei. "And how's the infamous criminal doing?" Hiei glared at her. Whether it was hate or annoyance, it was hard to tell. 

"Hmph. I'm now on community service. Baby-sitting you and this oaf is part of it." Hiei spat. 

"Hey! Who are you calling an oaf!?" Kuwabara demanded. Hiei glanced at him. 

"Who do you think, human? I don't see any other useless bags of human dirt around." Hiei snapped. Kuwabara flamed with anger at the insult. Hiei looked back at Yuiko, only to find her staring into space, her eyes directed at him. She was remembering how hot the demon looked without a shirt on. Hiei raised an eyebrow at her, hesitant to probe her mind because of the thoughts she had had last time he had done that. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Yuiko blinked and shook her head. 

"Sorry. Just thinking." Yuiko apologized. Hiei blinked once and turned his gaze away from her. She was strange. No one had said sorry to him before. Then again, no one had ever beaten him before or thrown him in jail. "Well, what are we standing here for? Let's go kick some Saint Beast butt!" She placed a grin on her face and led the way to the creepy, dark, evil-echoing castle. 

"Hn." Hiei grunted. Kurama and Kuwabara followed her, Hiei making up the end, but quickly walked past Kuwabara. Kuwabara glared at Hiei and in the long run the two of them ended up having a race to see who could reach the entrance first just because Kuwabara didn't want to be out-run by a 'shrimp', and that Hiei wouldn't let a 'pathetic human' defeat him at anything even if it was as stupid as reaching the castle first. Kurama and Yuiko sweat dropped, but Yuiko found it cute that the short demon had a huge amount of pride that made him act like a child and he wouldn't even realize it. Hiei won the race easily, Kuwabara second, Yuiko and Kurama third, but only because they hadn't ran there. The entrance was a gigantic mouth with sharp stone feline teeth hanging from the top. Kuwabara paled at the terrifying sight. Yuiko, Kurama, and Hiei just walked in like there was nothing to worry about. Yuiko stopped and turned around. 

"You coming or what, Kuwabara?" Yuiko questioned, crossing her arms. Kurama stopped in his tracks as well, but Hiei only stopped when he remembered Koenma's words to him before he was sent there. 

_"Don't leave Yuiko at all, Hiei! She has no idea who the Four Saint Beasts are, let alone how powerful they are! Make sure she's with you or Kurama throughout the time that she's there. If you don't you will stay in prison for the rest of your life! HEAR ME!?"_

Hiei sighed and walked back to where the others were. Yuiko was dragging Kuwabara again, this time Kuwabara was whining like a little kid. Hiei rolled his eyes and Kurama chuckled in amusement. "KUWABARA!" Yuiko yelled, stopping Kuwabara's rambling. "If you don't quit embarrassing yourself, and me, in front of Kurama and Hiei, the first thing you're going to be facing is my Spirit Gun before any of the Saint Beasts, got it!?" Kuwabara nodded. "So you're going to walk by yourself now?" He nodded again. Yuiko let go of his sleeve. "Good." Yuiko then walked ahead to where Hiei was. Kuwabara scrambled to his feet and the four of them walked a long way down the damp hall. It felt like hours before something actually happened. The four of them all stopped in their tracks when they saw a floating, one-eyed, round purple thing with no legs, no mouth, no ears, no arms, just a tail and some sort of antenna thing on top of its head. Hiei and Kurama didn't look impressed, but Kuwabara made a disgusted sound and Yuiko let out a "What the hell is that". 

"Hello, travelers, and welcome to the Gate of Betrayal." The thing greeted. Kuwabara gaped at it and Yuiko just stared in confused shock. How was it talking? 

"Yu-Yu, that creature's talking!" Kuwabara exclaimed. 

"Thank you for stating the obvious, fool." Hiei commented. Kuwabara growled at the demon clad in black. Kurama forced himself not to laugh. 

'I wonder if Kuwabara is always like this. If he is, then he must give Yuiko a very hard time.' Kurama thought. 

"**Ahem**. As I was saying," the creature continued, its tail weaving itself onto a switch. "welcome to the Gate of Betrayal!" The creature pulled the switch down and the ceiling came down on them. The quartet held their hands up to keep the ceiling from crushing them. "Heh heh heh heh heh. The Gate of Betrayal is heavy enough to be held up by all of the people underneath it by all their strength. If one of you gives in, you all die! If one of you tries to escape, the rest die! It's a matter of loyalty and betrayal. Only a traitor can survive!" The creature laughed its head-of-a-body off, Kuwabara growling. 

"Well, that's very nice of the Four Saint Beasts." Kurama said sarcastically. Yuiko gritted her teeth in frustration. Man, the ceiling was heavy! It was hard to give it all she had, but she remembered the intense training Genkai had put her through. She should be used to giving things all she had by now. Suddenly, an idea hit her. 

"Hiei!" Yuiko gasped, trying to talk and hold up the ceiling at the same time. Hiei glanced at her. "Do you think you can run over there and flip the switch back? I'll put my Spirit Energy in do to your part until you've done it if you can. You're a lot faster than the rest of us, so I think you could do it." 

"Yu-Yu!" Kuwabara shouted, sweat dripping down from his forehead and nose. "What makes you think he can be trusted!" 

"Hn. The oaf's got a point. What makes you think I won't leave you three here to die? To be crushed by this Gate of Betrayal?" Hiei asked, sweat beginning to dampen his face. Yuiko smirked as best she could. 

"'Cause I don't think that's your style. Besides, you want a rematch with me, don't you? How can you have a rematch if I'm dead?" Yuiko answered. Hiei blinked in a slightly surprised way. How could this _human_ girl know so much about him already? "I'm trusting you here, Hiei." That was enough to make the demon highly surprised. Hiei looked away from her eyes which shined with sincerity and something else that he couldn't place. Hiei thought about it for a moment before nodding. Yuiko smiled before producing her Spirit Energy so that it made up for the lack of Hiei's strength. Hiei sped over to the switch and was half way to flipping the switch back when he stopped. The purple creature laughed evilly, thinking it knew what was going through Hiei's head. 

"You don't want to save those two humans, do you Hiei? No, you just want to save yourself. You can join the Saint Beasts if you do, you know." the creature laughed. Kuwabara screamed traitor from where he was standing, and Kurama closed his eyes, honestly not knowing what Hiei was going to do. 

"Hiei!" Yuiko cried, the weight starting to become too much for her. Hiei flipped the switch so that the Gate stopped putting pressure on them. The creature's eye widened. 

"What? AH!" the creature shrieked in agony as Hiei sliced its eye in half. The creature flew away, Hiei glaring after it. Kuwabara and Kurama crawled out from under the Gate and Kurama smiled at the demon. 

"Thank you Hiei. I almost thought you weren't going to do it." Kurama admitted. Kuwabara mumbled a thank you. Hiei turned his gaze from the guys to Yuiko who was having trouble crawling out from under the Gate. 

"Curse not crawling on all fours since I was an infant." Yuiko grumbled. Half of her was out at the moment. When she finally stood up, she flashed a smile at Hiei. "I knew all along you weren't going to betray us." Yuiko laughed, knowing that they knew it was a lie. Hiei just stared at her. Yes, Yuiko was different from what Hiei thought humans were like. 

"Hn. Whatever." Hiei snapped. "I just want a rematch with you. That's all!" Hiei turned on his heel and walked down the hall. Yuiko frowned slightly. 

"That's Hiei for you. But, he's actually improving if you can believe it." Kurama informed. Yuiko put her hands in her pockets and followed Hiei silently, the other two males following her. 

"So, how do you know Yu-Yu?" Kuwabara asked Kurama. Kurama smiled. 

"She saved my mother and my life." Kurama replied. "She's rather sweet." Kuwabara made a choking sound. 

"Yuiko? Sweet? Cheerful, yeah, but I think sweet's the wrong word for her description." Kuwabara said. Yuiko stopped and turned around, glaring at him. "EEP!" Kuwabara hid behind Kurama. Hiei shook his head. 

"Humans." the demon commented. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The room was dark. The only light was coming from a crystal ball in the middle of the room. Inside the crystal ball were the foursome walking, talking, arguing, and getting on each other's nerves. "They've gotten past the Gate of Betrayal. This is the first time more than one person has done it." stated a silhouette in the shadows. 

"Yes. But they won't get up here." assured another. 

"Who will go and 'greet' our dinner - I mean, guests?" asked a third. 

"I will! They will perish at my powers and my room of stone!" cackled a fourth. The Four Saint Beasts chuckled to themselves as they watched the two humans and the two demons make their way to the next stage. 

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Hi, it's me, Yuiko. Next episode, we're facing this huge stone guy who's the first of the Saint Beasts. He has some freaky powers, and Kurama says he's going to fight him by himself. I have just one question. How's he going to do that with a _flower_? You heard right, a flower. He's going to kick butt with a flower. Well, just like Mr. Mighty Mountain, Kurama has some tricks up his sleeve too. Tune in next time to find out! 


	11. Kurama vs Genbu Chapter Fixed, I hope!

pYuiko and Kuwabara were arguing with each other while Kurama and Hiei sweat dropped at their childish behavior. "Could you argue a little louder? I can still hear myself think." Hiei snapped at them. Kurama bit his lower lip.

p"I'm afraid you both are being a little too loud." Kurama admitted. Yuiko stopped quarreling instantly and blushed so much her face was maroon. She looked at her feet to try and hide the blush.

p"Sorry." she muttered. Kuwabara just put his hands in his pockets and grumbled something. Hiei raised an eyebrow at the detective's strange behavior.

p"Kurama?" Hiei asked. Kurama glanced at him. "Is it normal for human girls to be maroon in the face?" Yuiko panicked and went a deeper shade of color.

p"Only when they're embarrassed, mortified, things like that." Kurama answered. It took him a second to figure out why Hiei had asked him that. Kurama turned his head to Yuiko. He smiled guiltily. Suddenly, the ground shook like an earthquake was happening. Kuwabara leaned against the hall wall to keep his balance, Hiei held onto the wall, and Yuiko ended up bunking into Kurama. When the earthquake stopped, Kuwabara was the first to ask questions.

p"What was that?" Kuwabara questioned.

p"You expect us to know?" Hiei demanded. "Idiot." he added in an undertone. Yuiko had heard it and chuckled softly.

p"Maybe if we go through those doors we'll find out." Kurama suggested. "It might be one of the Saint Beasts trying to get our attention."

p"Hm. You think of everything, don't you Kurama?" Yuiko said. Kurama flushed.

p"Not everything." Kurama insisted. Hiei let go of the wall and gazed amusedly at Kurama and Yuiko.

p"Hn. Obviously, or you would have noticed that she's clinging onto your arm like a leech." Hiei commented. Yuiko and Kurama looked confused at Hiei and looked at Kurama's right arm. Yuiko was holding onto Kurama like a girlfriend would with their boyfriend. Both blushed and Yuiko quickly let go.

p"Sorry." she muttered and walked ahead of them. Hiei followed silently.

p"You didn't have to embarrass her, you know, shrimp." Kuwabara growled at Hiei. Hiei ignored him. Kuwabara pushed his hands into his pockets and he and a blushing Kurama went after the short demon and the female. Yuiko pushed the doors open and the four entered a stone room which had torches all along the walls. "Why does this room echo dungeon? And torture chamber?" Yuiko narrowed her eyes and tried to ignore Kuwabara's rambling. He really needed to stop embarrassing her in front of Hiei and Kurama! Hiei was a strong fighter who Yuiko didn't want to look like a fool in front of, and she didn't want Kurama to think that she hanged out with a bunch of idiots. After all, people normally judge people by who they're friends with.

p"Welcome to reaching the end of your lives!" boomed a deep voice from the floor. The group stared at the floor and watched as a giant stone monster morphed from it. Kuwabara screamed a manly scream. Hiei made a "hn" sound, Kurama muttered an "impressive", and Yuiko just stared in shock. Demons . . . were getting stranger, to say the least. "I am Genbu, first of the Four Saint Beasts. You four won't even live to see the other three." Genbu chuckled to himself and he surveyed the foursome with his eyes. For a human, the detective looked really hot. Maybe Suzaku wouldn't mind having a girl toy around for them to play with . . . . . .

p"Oh really?" Kurama asked Genbu. "We're stronger than we look." Genbu laughed.

p"I find that hard to believe. Why don't you prove it by fighting me? One condition, though." Genbu replied. Kurama blinked curiously. Kuwabara crossed his arms and glared suspiciously at Genbu. Hiei growled at the stone monstrosity.

p"I know what you're thinking, Genbu." Hiei snapped disgustedly. "You filthy demon. That's just sick to do that to a female, even if it is a human girl. Hell, I would never do that, and I'm as ruthless as they come." Yuiko shivered and glared angrily at Genbu.

p"PERVERT!" Yuiko shouted at him. Kurama held out his arm to keep her from going at him.

p"What is this condition?" Kurama questioned. Genbu sniggered.

p"The other Saint Beasts and I get to keep the girl, just to play with." Genbu answered. Yuiko's hands went into fists, several very bad swearwords started leaking out of her mouth at a high volume. Kuwabara covered her mouth with his hand to help her calm down. She hit her human friend over the head, but stopped shouting. Kurama, after recovering from the shock at the girl's vocabulary, glared at Genbu. It was quite a dirty look.

p"Yuiko," Kurama started. Yuiko blinked and sent him a curious glance. "if I promised not to lose, would it be okay to take his challenge?" Yuiko crossed her arms and thought very hard. It was four whole minutes before she said anything.

p"If you lose, I'll kill you." Yuiko threatened. "And I'll also kill all four of these perverted Saint Beasts!" she added, glaring at Genbu with loathing. Kurama stepped up into the center of the room.

p"Let the fight begin." Kurama said. There was silence for a while, and no one seemed to be moving.

p"Hiei?" Yuiko stated after a while. Hiei glanced at her. "How tough is Kurama? I didn't fight him, you see. He kinda just gave me the Mirror of Forlorn Hope and didn't exactly put up a fight." Hiei was quiet for a second.

p"The reason I got Kurama on my side was because I didn't want to fight him myself. He's a highly powerful demon, and if you're weak enough, his powers are frightening. You know he's a Spirit fox. Foxes are clever and sly, and with his weapon there's much slaughter." Hiei smirked as he said the last part. Kuwabara glared at Hiei.

p"How can someone talk about death and think it's a good thing?" Kuwabara asked himself. Suddenly, Yuiko gasped.

p"Kurama! Behind you!" Yuiko shouted. Kurama turned his head around just in time to see a stone tail about to stab him. It shot at him like an arrow, and he narrowly dodged. He got a wound on the flesh where his stomach was, and he didn't notice it until he dodged the tail three more times. "He's doing something that has to do with the stone!"

p"Heh heh heh. You've figured it out. Hotness and brains, nice combination." Genbu said.

p"Get a life." Yuiko growled at him. Genbu smirked.

p"I can mold myself into any type of stone. And seeing that this room is nothing but stone, I can attack him anywhere in this room that I want, whenever I want." Genbu explained. "Is that enough to impress you, doll?" Yuiko made a retching sound, and Kuwabara and Hiei growled like bull dogs at Genbu.

p"Hey! You quit hitting on Yui!" Kuwabara yelled at him. Meanwhile, Kurama was having a bit of trouble with Genbu's spear-like tail. It kept coming at him. Unexpectedly, his tail retreated from attacking Kurama and slithered its way to Yuiko. It danced around Yuiko's face and brushed against her chest. She grabbed his tail and yanked on it as hard at she could. Genbu got sucked into the floor, came back out, was thrown to the wall, hit the wall, and finally materialized into it. Yuiko was red from embarrassment and anger.

p"That's it! If anybody pulls any crap like this on me again, I'm killing them before they have the chance to do anything as sick as that!" Yuiko exclaimed loud enough to hurt Kuwabara's and Hiei's ears. Kurama, sweat dropping, took out a rose. Yuiko turned back to the fight and raised an eyebrow. "A flower? He's going to kick butt with a flower?"

p"Hn. Looks like you don't know much about demons, or Kurama's powers." Hiei commented. "This match is as good as won for him." Hiei glanced at Yuiko as she relaxed her fists. Kurama raised the rose above it head, a smirk on his face.

p"Genbu, if you're somewhere in here, give a shout." Kurama waited for a second before he heard a deep voice laughing, a laugh which echoed in the room, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. "ROSE WHIP!" The rose in Kurama's hand lost its petals, creating a beautiful effect that really brightened up the room. The stem elongated into a whip, and a sweet perfume freshened the dark stone room. Kurama, still smirking, attacked a pillar in the room with his newly made whip. The attack demolished the pillar, and a cry of pain erupted from the sound of crumbling. Genbu reappeared in pieces in front of them. Genbu's head glared at Kurama.

p"How did you find me?" Genbu asked. Kurama's smirk was still in place.

p"When I brought out my rose whip, it left the sweet aroma of a rose behind, and all I had to do was follow your putrid odor." Kurama explained.

p"Yeah! Go Kurama!" Yuiko encouraged, punching a fist in the air. She grinned at the Spirit fox, even though he had his back to her at the moment. Suddenly, the pieces of Genbu rose from the floor and shot at Kurama like bullets. Kurama dodged and blocked with his Rose Whip as many as he could without being hit, but he did get a few scratches. Kurama noticed a red stone glowing and then dimming, then it repeated the process like a heart beating. When he had dodged Genbu's head, the pieces of Genbu put themselves together like a puzzle. When Genbu was reassembled, he laughed to his heart's content.

p"You can't beat me! You are going to die here, along with Hiei and that orange-haired idiot, and the girl will be my prize!" Genbu sniggered. Kurama sent the stone creature a very, very dirty glare.

p"You touch her, and I will make sure you die." Kurama hissed low enough for only Genbu and he to hear. Genbu chuckled.

p"You can't make good with that threat if you're dead!" Genbu disassembled himself and his body parts shot at Kurama again. Instead of blocking them this time, Kurama ran right at them toward the red, glowing rock that resembled a heart.

p"ROSE WHIP!" Kurama shouted, the whip winding itself around the red stone. Genbu put himself back together on the other side of the room again and started to gloat until Yuiko and Kuwabara broke out laughing. Genbu looked at Kurama and saw that he was having a hard time trying not to laugh. Kurama, worried that he'd crack if he opened his mouth, showed the red rock to Genbu. Genbu let out a gasp and discovered that he obviously didn't reassemble himself correctly. Without the red stone, he couldn't do anything more complicated than talking! Kurama finally burst and the laughter echoing against the walls was beginning to do a number on Genbu's ears. Hiei, covering his own ears, rolled his eyes and walked over to Kurama.

p"Shouldn't you destroy that thing!?" Hiei asked him at a high volume. Kurama forced himself to stop laughing to say yes to Hiei. "Then do it, you baka kitsune!" Kurama threw the red stone into the air, and broke it into two with his rose whip.

p"Come on, Yuiko, Kuwabara! Time to get out of here!" Kurama called over to them. Yuiko steadied herself and attempted to cease laughing. Kuwabara didn't even try. It took them a while to reach the staircase on the other side of the room, which must have led to the next Saint Beast. Hopefully, he wouldn't be another pervert, or there wouldn't be much need for Yuiko to have help fighting, now would there?

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pIn the dark room with the crystal ball, the three remaining Saint Beasts sighed. "That idiot. Got defeated by a flower." one commented sadly.

p"Though I must admit, that detective is quite attractive." another one admitted.

p"Get a hold of yourself. That's why Genbu lost, remember? He found her pretty." the first one scolded.

p"I shall fight them next. They'll make a very nice dinner. Especially the girl. You know what they say. Sugar, spice, and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of. I just know she'll be delicious!" laughed the third and he left the dark room. 


	12. Kuwabara vs Byakko Chapter Fixed, I hope

pThe group walked up the staircase, Yuiko with her arms crossed and grumbling about how perverted demons shouldn't be allowed to walk the earth. "Alright!" Kuwabara suddenly exclaimed, stopping in his tracks. The others stopped as well, Yuiko and Hiei raising eyebrows at him. "I'm fighting the next guy!" Hiei snorted.

p"A human like you? I doubt you even have Spirit energy." Hiei smirked maliciously. Kuwabara growled at him.

p"I do too! And I learned how to do a few tricks!" Kuwabara shouted.

p"Like what?" Yuiko snapped, herself still in a bad mood from the mess with Genbu. Kuwabara grinned stupidly.

p"Glad you asked!" Kuwabara held his hand out in front of him for a second before his Spirit Sword appeared and he raised it above his head. "Spirit Sword! Get long!" Kuwabara's Spirit Sword grew until it made a small hole in the ceiling. Yuiko didn't look impressed.

p"Uh huh. Very amazing. Unfortunately, I've seen hamsters do better stunts than that." Yuiko insulted. Kurama chuckled and Hiei stared at her. She was good. Kuwabara glared at her for a few moments before he felt dizzy. He swayed for a second and then leaned against the wall. "Idiot! Save the tricks for the fights if they make you dizzy!" She put her hands on his hips, turned on her heel, and stormed off. Kurama stared after her, a cheerful look in his eyes. Hiei raised an eyebrow at him.

p"Kurama?" Hiei asked. Kurama blinked and looked at the demon. "Do you like that human?" Kuwabara blinked and stared curiously at Kurama. Kurama flushed.

p"No!" he replied, a little too quickly. "What made you think that?" Hiei shrugged.

p"Forget I said anything." Hiei grunted, walking after Yuiko, his eyes closed. He had to admit it; he wouldn't blame Kurama for having a crush on the human. Hiei's eyes snapped open when he realized what he was thinking. 'What the hell of Spirit World am I thinking?! She's a filthy human! I feel nothing for her!'

p"Are you guys coming or what?" Yuiko snapped in irritation. Hiei blinked and came back to earth.

p"Yes, mother." Kuwabara retorted, hands in his pockets. Yuiko growled at him and next thing they knew, Kuwabara had a big bump on his head and she was stomping off, grumbling about idiots. Kuwabara rubbed his head as he and the other two boys followed Yuiko to the next Saint Beast. The four of them walked until they exited the staircase from a door and found themselves on a tower with a slim bridge connected to another tower which seemed to have another door leading to another staircase. "So where's the next Saint Beast?" Kuwabara asked. No one answered right away. It was when the ground beneath them began to shake that they found out. Everyone waited until they saw a big, ugly tiger demon with green hair and super sharp claws exit from the door on the other end of the bridge.

pKurama's eyes widened. "Ah!" the red-head gasped. Hiei just crossed his arms and glared at the tiger demon. Yuiko raised an eyebrow and Kuwabara would have wetted his pants if he hadn't remembered when he had accidentally done that in the fifth grade. Yuiko had tormented him for weeks. "That's Byakko, the second Saint Beast." Kurama explained. Hiei just grunted in reply.

p"Alright! Let's see what this big kitty's got!" Kuwabara shouted. He ran out onto the bridge without thinking.

p"KUWABARA!" Yuiko yelled. She was about to run after him before Hiei threw his arm out to stop her.

p"He's a stupid idiot. All stupid idiots are destined to die." Hiei stated in an emotionless voice. Yuiko glared at him.

p"I can't just - he's - ah, forget it! You wouldn't understand!" Yuiko rambled. Hiei decided to read her mind to figure out what he 'wouldn't understand'. 'Kuwabara can't die! He just can't! Except for Keiko, he's my only friend!' Hiei blinked and stared subconsciously at Yuiko. "JUST DON'T DIE ON ME, YOU BAKA!" Hiei directed his eyes to Kuwabara's rash actions so that the female didn't notice his staring.

p"Hn." Byakko growled. "After all these years, when King Yama finally sends some fighters to feast on, they come at me one at a time! What an insult!"

p"Just come on down here, fatso!" Kuwabara insulted. 'Man, he looks bigger up close.' Hiei, Yuiko, and Kurama sweat dropped, Kurama's face in his hand, the red head muttering about insulting demons is not the way to survive a fight. Byakko laughed and pulled out three or four green hairs out of his head. The tiger demon let them fall to the ground and tiger monsters just like Byakko, except on all fours and didn't talk, appeared on the bridge to fight Kuwabara.

p"Attack my pets! Tear his head, arms, and legs off as your meals, but leave the body for me!" Byakko ordered. The monstrosities made from Byakko's DNA ran at Kuwabara, the tall orange-haired teenager waving his Spirit Sword at them.

p"Want a piece of this? Come and get it!" Kuwabara shouted. Kuwabara ran right at the giant tigers about to kill him.

p"Has he lost his mind?" Kurama asked. "He won't survive if he just runs at them. It's more like trying to commit suicide." Yuiko turned to Kurama and grabbed his collar with both of her hands.

p"What are you saying!? That he's gonna die!?" Yuiko demanded. Kurama blinked and stared at her worried face. Yuiko, seeing that she wasn't going to get an answer right away, let go of Kurama and put her full attention of the fight. The tigers were clawing at Kuwabara like he was a cat toy. Blood was being sprayed from the teenager's chest, but the honorable idiot kept on fighting. "KUWABARA!" Kuwabara glanced at Yuiko on the other side of the bridge. He blinked in realization.

p'That's it!' he thought. Kuwabara turned tail and ran all the way back to Yuiko, Kurama, and Hiei, the large tigers following. Laughter came in the form of Byakko's deep, scratchy voice.

p"That's right! Run away! But no matter where you go, you will still die!" laughed Byakko. Kuwabara ran past Yuiko and Kurama, the two latter and Hiei getting out of the way of the tigers. Suddenly, Kuwabara turned around.

p"SPIRIT SWORD! GET LONG!" His Spirit Sword launched itself through the tigers' mouths and rear ends, creating tiger shish-ka-bobs. Kuwabara laughed in triumph before he noticed the tiger monsters were eating his sword. He freaked out and ran around the tower that the four of them came out of. Hiei stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, muttering about stupid humans, even after Kuwabara connected the two ends of his sword so that the monsters couldn't chase him any more. Yuiko let out the breath she had been holding and she gave Kuwabara a high-five.

p"Oh yeah!" Yuiko exclaimed, smiling. Kurama sweat dropped, but smiled all the same.

p"That was . . an interesting way of defeating them, Kuwabara. Not what I would have done, personally, but one to his own tactics." Kurama commented. Hiei just grunted.

p"Pathetic and absurd." the demon said. Kuwabara growled at him and Yuiko stood in the space separating them.

p"AHEM!" roared Byakko, who was waiting patently for Kuwabara to finish up. "If you are done chit-chatting, I have a stomach to fill!" Kuwabara glared at Byakko and ran at the giant tiger demon. Yuiko put her hands in her pockets, smirking.

p"At first I didn't think he had a chance." she admitted. Hiei snorted.

p"I don't think it would be a good idea to tell him that." Kurama advised. Kuwabara slashed at Byakko several times, seeming to have the advantage. Yuiko's smirk turned into a frown after a while.

p"How come Byakko's not getting weaker? Kuwabara looks like he's about to pass out!" Yuiko commented worriedly. Kurama blinked and gave a small gasp.

p"You're right. But how -?" Kurama cut his sentence short.

p"Probably because Byakko is absorbing the idiot's spirit energy." Hiei suggested.

p"WHAT!?" Yuiko yelled. Byakko chuckled.

p"Guess I've been found out." Byakko said. "There's no way you can defeat me!" Kuwabara growled to himself as Byakko came in for the kill.

p"There has to be a way to kick his butt!" Yuiko cried.

p"Well, there is." Kurama informed. "But it involves possible suicide." Yuiko went numb. Hiei stepped over to Kurama and elbowed him in the gut. "Ouch! What was that for?"

p"Hn."

pKuwabara stood up and charged at Byakko. 'This better work!' the teenager thought. Yuiko watched as her male best friend ran at the tiger demon.

pFlashback

p"Come on Kuwabara, brawl with me! Just this one time?"

p"No! I can't hit girls!"

p"Parents just tell their sons that so that they don't hit their wives. You can fight with me!"

p"No, I can't! It's against my code!"

p"Kuwabara, we're eight years old! We're too young to have codes!"

p"No we're not!"

p"Yes we are!"

p"No we're not!"

pAnother Flashback

p"What do you mean you can't come to the boxing match? You promised you'd be there, you jerk!"

p"Sorry, Yuiko, but my guy pals really want me to go to the arcade with them for Kamada's birthday."

p"His birthday's not until next week!"

p"But he's going to be out of town next week, so he's having the party today."

p"Fine! Miss the biggest fight of my entire life!"

pAnother Flashback

p"Why do they have to have a stupid prom? It's not like anyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend."

p"I dunno, Yui."

p"It's probably just another way for those stupid teachers to embarrass us because at least two of the students will be going by themselves."

p"Are you sore about it because you want to go with somebody?"

p"No, you idiot!"

p"Okay, okay. Don't bite my head off. Guess you won't want to go to the prom with me then."

pEnd of Flashbacks

pKuwabara gave a battle cry and sent all of his energy right at Byakko for him to devour. "KUWABARA!" Yuiko screamed. Kuwabara fainted and Byakko laughed, slowly stepping toward the unconscious boy.

p"I'll crush you now." Byakko stated. Suddenly, intestinal sounds came out of no where. Byakko gave an enormous burp and he flew off of the fighting arena, Kuwabara miraculously getting back up.

p"Ha, ha! Take that you pussycat!" Kuwabara exclaimed, falling to his knees. Yuiko ran up to him quickly.

p"Kuwabara!" Yuiko cried out. She knelt down beside him. "I can't believe you just took down a demon!"

p"Yeah, well, I'm the amazing Kazuma Kuwabara! Of course I did!" Kuwabara laughed. Hiei and Kurama caught up with Yuiko, Kurama smiling and Hiei staring at them with an unreadable expression. The female embraced the carrot-topped teen in a tight hug, making it hard for Kuwabara to breath. Hiei's eyes widened and something in him started burning. He didn't know what, but it was making it hard to watch the scene in front of him. "Uh, Yuiko? Can't breath." Yuiko blinked and let go of Kuwabara. He took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow at her, a light-hearted look on his face. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Yuiko burst out laughing and helped him up. Kurama chuckled a bit, but Hiei glared at Kuwabara. The demon didn't like him.

p"Now that that's over, it's time to go fight the next Saint Beast." Kurama said. Yuiko nodded and the four of them walked away from the area, unaware that Byakko wasn't beaten yet. 


	13. Hiei vs Seiryu Chapter Fixed, I hope!

pThe four of them entered a hot room that had platforms all over the place and lava was at the bottom of the large pit. Yuiko whistled. "Hate to fall down there." she commented. "Well, the only way to the door toward the third Saint Beast is on the other side of this room, so here we go!" Yuiko jumped onto the closest platform, and the part she was standing on broke off. She let out a scream. In seconds, Hiei was on the platform and grabbed her wrist. Yuiko looked surprised and dazed at the same time. Hiei pulled her back onto the platform, Yuiko leaning slightly on the demon. "Uh," Yuiko blushed and turned her head away from him. "thanks." Hiei grunted a "hn" as though he could care less, but inside he was embarrassed and confused as hell. He was embarrassed that she had said thank you to him, and confused on why he felt embarrassed! Kuwabara raised a suspicious eyebrow at Hiei.

p"I don't trust him." the teenaged human boy informed to Kurama. Kurama smiled at him.

p"Why?" Kurama asked innocently. Kuwabara crossed his arms.

p"How do we know that he's not one of those perverted demons? He might try hitting on Yuiko." Kurama laughed at Kuwabara's claim.

p"Hiei? Think a human girl is cute, let alone 'hot'?" Kurama used his hands to make quotation marks when he said hot. "You're barking up the wrong Saint Beast hideout, Kuwabara." Kurama chuckled.

p"Hardy har har. You laugh all you want, but I'm not the one who uses a wimpy thing like a flower to kick butt with."

p"But you do have a cat who you've been dotting over whenever you're not studying, kicking ass, hanging out with your other friends, or at school!" Yuiko shouted. "Now get your butts down here!" Yuiko froze when she realized she had cursed. Her face went pink and she glanced at Hiei. He didn't show any sign of caring that she had used the word ass.

p"Coming!" Kurama called back to her, jumping off toward them. Kuwabara followed.

p"Okay, who ever gets to the door last has to buy everyone food if we get out of here alive!" Yuiko challenged. As soon as Yuiko jumped to the next platform, Hiei was already at the door. 'That, was quick.' The results were Hiei first, Yuiko second, Kurama third, and Kuwabara fourth. "Ha! Looks like Kuwabara has to buy the food!" She laughed at Kuwabara's pissed off look.

p"Enough with the childish antics, Detective." Hiei growled. Hiei pushed the doors open and they walked down yet another hall. They entered a room where there were a bunch of doors leading to different ways. Yuiko groaned.

p"Great." Yuiko said sarcastically.

p"Which one should we take?" Kurama asked. "I may be spiritually aware, but my sixth sense isn't that advanced." Kurama smirked politely. "And Hiei doesn't have a sixth sense." Hiei growled at the red-head.

p"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Hiei muttered.

p"We should take the second from the right." Kuwabara informed. Hiei narrowed his eyes at the door in question.

p"Okay, second to the right it is!" Yuiko said.

p"I dunno. Are you sure about this? I wouldn't want to get my butt kicked just because I'm exhausted from fighting their brainwashed human minions." Hiei commented.

p"Don't worry, Hiei. Kuwabara has a strong sixth sense. He has female ax-wielders trying to kill him in his dreams." Yuiko stated.

p"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL EVERYONE!" Kuwabara ran after Yuiko in a chase blinded by his anger and encouraged by her playfulness. She sped off down the right path, laughing as Kuwabara chased after her. "GET BACK HERE, YUIKO!"

p"Hn. Humans. Such irrational and compulsive creatures." Hiei said. Kurama smiled.

p"You may be right about Kuwabara, but Yuiko's just playing. She is only in the eighth grade." Kurama declared. Hiei raised an eyebrow at the spirit fox.

p"And that means?" Hiei asked. Kurama closed his eyes while he was still smiling. (It was to increase a more dramatic effect.)

p"It means that she's only thirteen or fourteen."

p"WHAT!?" Hiei turned his gaze to the two teenagers making fools of themselves. She was only thirteen? But she had so much power! He had never even thought a human female like her could ever like fighting, let alone hand his head over to him in a brawl, before he had met her. He thought her to be near her early twenties.

p"You seem shocked, Hiei. You thought she was older?" Hiei couldn't help but nod and feel stupid. (Not one for surprises, is he?) Yuiko dodged another one of Kuwabara's attempts to catch her and glanced at the two demons who were walking very slowly.

p"What are you? Snails? Hurry up!" Yuiko exclaimed. Kuwabara roughly grabbed her arm.

p"Ha! Caught you!" Kuwabara announced. Yuiko growled at him.

p"Idiot! I wasn't paying attention, so that doesn't count!" Yuiko declared.

p"We're not little kids anymore, you know!"

p"Who said?"

p"You're thirteen!"

p"So are you, but you're still scared of your older sister!"

p"I am not!" And that started another argument.

pBy the time that the group made it to the entrance to the next Saint Beast's den, Yuiko had hit Kuwabara on the head and was refusing to speak to him. Kurama just sweat dropped and smiled nervously while Hiei was puzzled on Yuiko. When they had fought, she was completely business and didn't seem so childish to him. But now that she was around the human idiot, it was like she was a little kid who just loved to fight for the thrill of it. He was also puzzled on why he felt the way he did when he saw her hug Kuwabara. Hiei couldn't put his finger on it, but he crossed out all the things it could have been just because he didn't want it to be any of them. A couple of those things were jealousy and envy.

pAnyway, time to get back to the action. "Whoa!" Yuiko gasped at the bronze dragon statues and the huge doors. "This isn't anything like Genbu's or Byakko's! A lot more impressive."

p"You're telling me." Kuwabara agreed. Hiei narrowed his eyes at the statues.

p"Bronze statues. Feh! Worthless!" Hiei criticized. The other three looked at him. "They might as well be metal painted gold!"

p'He, has high expectations.' Yuiko thought. Kurama coughed into his hand.

p"Hiei, I don't think it would be wise to insult a Saint Beast's decorations." Kurama stated.

p"Hn. That's your opinion." Hiei snarled. Yuiko shrugged and pushed the doors open. Inside the room was a blue-skinned male demon. His hair was black and he had a hat on.

p"Suzaku-sama finds you four to be a nuisance. I will kill you after I tear you limb from limb." the Saint Beast greeted.

p"That's Seiryu." Kurama stated. "He's an -"

p"Ice apparition." Hiei interrupted. Yuiko blinked at the change of his voice. He almost sounded angry. Seiryu stared intently at Yuiko. She actually looked pretty cute in person.

p"Hm. We have an uninvited guest." Seiryu announced. Kurama, Hiei, Yuiko, and Kuwabara turned around, suddenly feeling a presence of something. "Something dragging along. It's coming from down the hall." The doors cracked open and in came -

p"Byakko!?" Kuwabara screamed, hiding behind Yuiko. She blinked, then narrowed her eyes and sweat dropped.

p"Some fighter!" Yuiko shouted at the human teen.

p"I'll crush you four right here and now!" Byakko declared. Seiryu narrowed his eyes in disgust.

p"I'm afraid you can't, Byakko. You're considered defeated by them, meaning they're next opponent is me. There's really no use for you now that they've come this far." Seiryu said. Hiei's eyes widened.

p"Get away from the door now." Hiei ordered. Kuwabara crossed his arms.

p"Why should we listen to you?" he questioned. Hiei sent him a side glare.

p"Just do it, Kuwabara." Yuiko snapped. Seiryu got into a fighting stance. Byakko started to panic, and the four heroes quickly got out of the way. (Yuiko had to drag Kuwabara to the side, mind you)

p"Fall to Ghostly Ice Fist!" Seiryu yelled. In seconds, Byakko was frozen in ice. Kuwabara's jaw hung in midair, thinking that if Yuiko hadn't pulled him away, he would have been caught in the assault. "Heh. I laid 100 ice punches on him. No one save Suzaku-sama can avoid that." Seiryu smirked and kicked Byakko, sending the tiger demon into several pieces. Yuiko growled at the ice demon.

p"You -" she started but Hiei interrupted her.

p"Save that anger for Suzaku. You'll need it." Hiei advised. Yuiko blinked and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Hiei walked up to fight Seiryu. Seiryu's smirk turned into a frown.

p"Turned traitor, have you?" Seiryu asked. Hiei said nothing. He just glanced at Byakko's now body-less head. Hiei took off his black coat, revealing his well-built chest, and threw the coat over Byakko's head. The coat landed right on top of it so no one had to look at it. Yuiko blushed slightly, trying to not take note on how hot the demon ally looked without a shirt on. "A sentimental gesture? From you? I thought you to be like us - ruthless to the core! You must be hanging around the human filth too much." Yuiko and Kurama stared in confusion at Hiei, while Kuwabara just stood there clueless. Suddenly Kuwabara gasped in a manly way.

p"The shrimp's energy!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Yuiko's jaw dropped. It was higher than it was when she had fought the demon.

p"Amazing. Self-interest is not what moves him now. Seiryu's action seems to have awakened something in him that I didn't know existed. His spirit energy is reaching to the highest peek I've seen from him." Kurama commented. He glanced at Yuiko and saw the pink across her cheeks. Jealousy abruptly flared up in him and he shut his mouth tight. Hiei and Seiryu stood in fighting positions, Hiei's ready to pull his kantana out, Seiryu's right fist ready for his Ghostly Ice Fist.

p"I'll crush you." Seiryu declared. "DIE!" In a half a second, Hiei and Seiryu lashed out at each other, and in the other half of the second, Seiryu fell to the ground into pieces (literally), blood splattering all over the ground underneath the ice demon. Hiei looked unharmed until he turned around to look at his kill. A sheet of ice was frozen on his chest.

p"Wow! Hiei!" Yuiko gasped, a grin appearing on her face. "Man, you're fast! He looks way too much like small pieces of beef for you to only slice him eight times! How many cuts was it?"

pHiei closed his eyes and grunted. "Sixteen." Kuwabara's jaw, even though it had already dropped, dropped some more.

p"S-sixteen? He was mince meat before I even blinked!" Kuwabara gawked.

p"I only saw the flashes." Kurama admitted to Kuwabara in a low voice.

p"Really? Sixteen? Man, am I in trouble whenever we have a rematch!" Yuiko said. She then noticed the sheet of ice on his chest. "He got you, anyway?" Hiei glanced at his chest and grunted again. Suddenly the room heated up quickly and the ice disappeared. Yuiko blinked. "You a fire demon or something?" Hiei only nodded slightly and went to get his coat back. She giggled to herself. Hiei, his hand inches away from his coat, glanced back at her with a confused expression on his face.

p"What so funny?" Hiei demanded. She better not be laughing at him. Yuiko turned to look at him.

p"Oh, nothing. It's stupid anyway." Hiei raised an eyebrow at her, the other two boys choosing to do the same. She put her hands behind her head and walked off to the doors on the wall ahead of them, still giggling. Hiei quickly put his coat back on and grunted again.

p'Females are confusing.' Hiei thought as the boys followed her.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pCRASH!

pThe crystal ball that showed the remaining Saint Beast to see the foursome coming his way broke into smithereens thanks to the last Saint Beast's anger.

p"Fools! I'll have to destroy them myself!" 


	14. Yuiko vs Suzaku Chapter Fixed, I hope!

pLighting shot through the air. A green bird flew toward the tower which the last of the four Saint Beasts lived in. The bird entered the tower through a window.

p"Master Suzaku!" the bird called in a high pitched voice.

p"Ah, Murg, there you are." the fourth Saint Beast greeted.

p"Looks like your colleagues have failed." sniggered the bird. The Saint Beast narrowed his eyes, even though it was hard to tell from the shadows.

p"Enough. What have you found on Detective Yuiko Urameshi?"

p"Something interesting and, I think, useful."

p"Oh?"

p"Peer into the human world. Keiko Yukimura! Yuiko Urameshi's only female friend. She's the only girl at their school who likes her. She has known Urameshi longer than that brute Kuwabara, and that's practically when they were still in diapers!"

p"Hm. Yes, I think she will be useful. By the looks of her, she's a smart girl, but nothing like Urameshi. . . . ." Suzaku trailed off in thought.

p"Something wrong, Suzaku-sama?" Murg perched herself on Suzaku's shoulder. "You know you can tell me anything you couldn't tell the other Saint Beasts." Suzaku swatted Murg away and walked over to the other side of the room. "Suzaku-sama?"

p"Murg, if you found an enemy of the opposite sex pretty, what would you do?" It took Murg a minute to realize why Suzaku was asking that. Murg screamed in shock and fell out of the air. She landed on the floor, beak opened, eyes almost popping out from the mere thought of it, nonsense noises coming from her non-moving mouth.

p"Y-y-you f-find U-Urameshi p-p-pretty?" Suzaku said nothing, confirming her guess. Murg then fainted. Suzaku put the flute he had in his right hand to his lips and began to play. If the song had words, it would sound like this:

piMy mindless minions, pGo seek - the girl I need, pDestroy her now, before Urameshi feels weak, pUnderneath my power of Dark Lighting, pGo kill Yukimura, pMy mindless minions, pDestroy her now before Urameshi falls at my hands, pUrameshi must see her friend's lifeless body, pBefore I bring her to her knees. pDestroy her now, before Urameshi feels weak pDestroy her now before I kill Urameshi./i

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pAt Sarayashiki Junior High School, Keiko was walking down the hall and past the teacher Mr. Iwamoto, one of the teachers who gave Yuiko a hard time in class just because she wasn't like the other girls.

p"Still here, Yukimura? You should go home and study. The standardized exams are coming up, and you could make the top 10. Unlike Urameshi."

p"Yes sir, I'll go home after I file these for the school newspaper." Keiko replied in a non-offended voice the best she could.

p"And Yukimura, stop associating with Urameshi. Her lack of studying, her skipping classes, and her bullying will rub off on you." Keiko narrowed her eyes. Yuiko didn't bully people! And Yuiko only stopped studying after she got hit by the car, so she wasn't that bad at it, and she only started skipping classes, so it must be for a good reason. Keiko just walked down the hall. Unknown to both Keiko and Mr. Iwamoto, one of the Makai Insects sat on Mr. Iwamoto's shoulder and crawled its way into the teacher's ear.

pBack with Keiko, she was in a classroom, stacking papers and humming to herself. Mr. Iwamoto then entered the room, an angered look about him.

p"Hello Mr. Iwamoto. Was there something else?" Keiko asked. Mr. Iwamoto gritted his teeth with his eyes glazed over.

p"I told you. Go home. Study . . . STUDY!" Mr. Iwamoto shouted. His fists started to shake uncontrollably and he suddenly lashed out at Keiko. Keiko dodged his fist and ran out of the classroom, screaming.

p'What came over him? His eyes were glassy, unfocused!' Before Keiko had anymore time to think, more of the mind-controlled people came toward the school, blood dripping from their mouths. Keiko stopped in her tracks. The sound of Mr. Iwamoto coming closer became louder and louder.

p"Students who don't listen to their teachers deserve to die, Yukimura! DIE!" Mr. Iwamoto yelled. Keiko shrieked and ran for it, the zombie people chasing after her. Suddenly, someone grabbed Keiko and pulled her into a nearby bush to hide her.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pYuiko ran ahead of the boys, every now and then taking a leap forward. "Now I get my shot! Finally!" Yuiko said happily. Hiei stared after her, thinking about the way he acted when she almost fell into the lava pit and the way she acted after he had defeated Seiryu.

pb"Really? Sixteen? Man, am I in trouble whenever we have a rematch!" "Ah ha ha hah!"/b

pIt wasn't until Yuiko gave a surprised shout that Hiei came out of his reverie. Hiei blinked and came to earth just in time to hear Kurama and Kuwabara say, "What's wrong?" at the same time. Yuiko took out the communication mirror that Botan gave her out of her back pocket.

p"She could have told me she had set this thing on vibrate. That way I wouldn't have put it there. Sheesh, almost felt like someone was touching me there." Yuiko commented. Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara all blushed. "What's up, Botan?"

p"Yuiko, I'm with Yukimura and the infested humans are after her with murder on their minds!" Botan informed.

p"What!? Get out of there, now!"

p"Will do." Yuiko heard Keiko shout "Look out!" and the sound of rock breaking. Suddenly, she could only hear static.

p"Botan? BOTAN!?" Yuiko closed the communication mirror and broke into a burst of speed. "Come on! We don't have much time!" The boys shook their heads and chased after her. "There's the stupid tower! Just have to run a few hundred stairs!" Kurama narrowed his eyes to see farther away and suddenly grabbed Yuiko's shoulder to stop her. "What are you doing?!"

p"Look over there." Kurama stated, pointing forward. Yuiko turned her head away from Kurama and gasped at the green human-looking things in front of them. She would have blushed when she noticed they were all men and weren't wearing anything if she wasn't so pissed off.

p"Damn it!" Yuiko spat.

pKuwabara's jaw dropped. "It'll take forever to take them down. And why aren't you covering your eyes, Yuiko!? They're all naked and they're all guys!"

pKurama ignored Kuwabara's latter comments. "True, it will take time we don't have."

pYuiko's hands rolled up into fists. "Forget head-to-head, Kurama! I'll just knock 'em all down with a new trick I learned which I like to call Shot Gun!"

pHiei grabbed her right fist, the one she was about to use her Shot Gun with. "Don't extend yourself. You'll fall right into Suzaku's plans." Hiei said. Kurama closed his mouth. The red-head was about to say the exact same thing!

p"Then what do you expect us to do, three-eyes!? There's no other way through!" Yuiko shouted. Hiei had to remind himself that she was ticked before going murderous swordsman on her for the three-eyes insult.

p"Up there. See that window?" Hiei replied. Kuwabara and Yuiko looked up. The window was about a kilometer high.

p"Jeez, shrimp, we're not grasshoppers!" Kuwabara gawked.

p"And how do you suppose we get up there?" Yuiko demanded. Hiei and Kurama both noted that she was very rude when she was angry and worried at the same time. Not to mention quickly acted before she thought.

p"I have an idea." Hiei let on. Moments later, after Hiei explained his plan, Kurama knelt down on Kuwabara's shoulders and Hiei stood on Kurama's back. Kuwabara was struggling under the weight.

p"You okay?" Kurama asked.

p"Why me? Why me all the time?" Kuwabara whimpered. Kuwabara began to run as fast as he could, Yuiko running after him. "Don't leave shoe marks on my back, Yuiko, or I'm gonna get you!" Yuiko didn't reply. "Make this count!"

p"Hup hup!" Yuiko shouted. She stepped on Kuwabara's back, pushed off, landed on Kurama's back, pushed off again, stepped on Hiei's back and pushed off again, and shot at the window in question. She grabbed the window sill and climbed up into the tower. "Thanks! If we live, dinner's on me and I'll make Diaper Bags pay me so we can split the paycheck!"

p"We'll hold you to that!" Kuwabara called back to her. "And Koenma doesn't pay you?" Yuiko had left the window before Kuwabara had even asked his question. Yuiko ran into Suzaku's lair and saw Keiko and Botan on a huge screen.

p"KEIKO! BOTAN!" Yuiko screamed. She saw Suzaku, a blonde human-looking demon with two red antennas that at first looked like a hair ornament for his bangs. "YOU!"

p"Now, now, Detective, if you are going to fight me, you should at least know my name. It's Suzaku. And -" Suzaku looked down at the still unconscious Murg on the floor. He sweat dropped. "the unconscious thing with feathers on the floor there is Murg." Suzaku looked back at Yuiko who looked angrier than she had ever been in her entire life. 'I knew she'd probably look prettier in person, but she looks absolutely beautiful when she's furious.'

p"HAND OVER THAT WHISTLE RIGHT NOW! OR I'LL NOT ONLY POUND YOUR FACE INTO THE GROUND, I'LL HUMILIATE YOU IN FRONT OF ALL OF DEMON WORLD BECAUSE YOU'LL NOT ONLY LOSE TO A HUMAN, YOU'LL LOSE TO A HUMAN iGIRL/i!" Yuiko yelled at the top of her lungs. She yelled so loud that the boys outside could hear her quite clearly. Suzaku sighed a content sigh and made the hand signal that one uses when trying to get a dog to come toward them. Yuiko growled and ran at him. She punched him in the stomach and made a grab for the Makai Whistle, but he made it just out of reach. Yuiko stood on tiptoes and she still couldn't reach it. Suzaku made a note that the girl's eyes were a chocolate brown before leaping backward.

p"This battle has only just begun. You thought you'd get the whistle that easily?" Suzaku asked. 'She may be pretty, but I'm not going to let her get the Makai Whistle.' Yuiko ran at Suzaku and gave him a barrage of kicks and punches, using everything she knew about head-to-head fighting except for her Spirit Gun or her new attack Shot Gun. Suzaku was badly deflecting all of it with one hand, but he was superb at making sure she did not get the whistle. 'She's fast. Not just fast, lighting quick. Amazing that a human girl could be so powerful. The demon fairy tales always foretold the human female to be weak and pathetic, but she's only a teenager and I'm having difficulty.'

p"SPIRIT GUN!"

pKa-BLOOM! Part of the ceiling tore away from the tower and flew sky-high, allowing the thunder claps to be heard louder and the lighting to be seen. Rain fell from the clouds, drenching both of them. Suzaku was panting and Yuiko was confused on why her Spirit Gun hadn't blown him to pieces. Suzaku suddenly started laughing.

p"Now that I have access to the sky, you will die right here and now, Urameshi. But first," Suzaku glanced at the screen. "we'll see your best friend and your assistant be slaughtered." Yuiko blinked and turned to the screen, only to see Keiko trying her best not to break down into tears and Botan doing her best to stay calm.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

p"Okay, Keiko, it's going to be okay. Don't cry. Yuiko will defeat the Four Saint Beasts, destroy the whistle controlling those people, and everything will go back to normal." Botan reassured. They had lost the zombie-people for now.

p"Why does Yuiko have to do this? Who are the Four Saint Beasts? And how can a whistle control so many people, including my teacher, Mr. Iwamoto? And, who are you anyway?" Keiko questioned.

p"There isn't enough time to answer all of those questions, but I can tell you my name. I'm Botan. I'm your friend's assistant. Not to mention a friend of Yuiko's as well." Keiko calmed down and took a deep breath.

p"Okay. Since you're a friend of Yui's, I trust you completely." Keiko picked up the closest phone and called 9-1-1. "No good. The phones are out."

p"Figures. They've cut us off. Now what?"

p"The faculty room!"

p"That's it! Other teachers! They can help. Good thinking, Yukimura!"

p"Please, call me Keiko."

p"Alright, Keiko." The two girls ran to the faculty room. Mr. Takenaka was sitting in a chair.

p"Mr. Takenaka! There are these people outside who are acting really weird, and they kept on chasing me! And one of them is Mr. Iwamoto!" Keiko exclaimed. She got no response. "Mr. Takenaka?" Mr. Takenaka fell face down on the table, blood dripping from his nose. He had already been rendered unconscious before they had entered the room. Keiko and Botan both gasped in surprise and fear. "We're all alone." A cackling sound came from behind them.

p"Yukimura!" Mr. Iwamoto called. Keiko and Botan ran for it, Keiko screaming.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pYuiko stood gaping at the screen. "KEIKO!" Yuiko yelled. Yuiko remembered a time where Keiko was just as scared as she looked on the screen. Keiko still had the small scar on her palm from when she and Yuiko had fallen from the rock pile they had been climbing on and fell butt down into the deep icy water. Yuiko, being the stubborn and dumber one of the two, almost drowned that day, scaring the hell out of Keiko. Yuiko glared at Suzaku. The evil demon was laughing.

p"Her expressions make this seem so real, so defiant. She's the perfect star for this horror flick." Suzaku commented, smirking at Yuiko. Yuiko ran at Suzaku again and attacked him constantly. It was two minutes of punching, kicking, and snatching for the Makai Whistle before Suzaku made the fight much more interesting. He lifted his free hand up to the sky and jumped away from the girl. Yuiko took several deep breaths, trying to slow her heartbeat. It was really hard for her to think with so much blood going to her brain. Suzaku smirked. "You will die now. Fist of Dark LIGHTING!" Lighting shot through the sky and Suzaku caught it in his bare hands. Murg finally regained consciousness and blinked. She had missed most of the fight! The bird saw the lighting in Suzaku's hands and saw Yuiko panting away like a dog.

p"Ha ha ha! You're going to die! You're going to die!" Murg chanted, laughing in her annoying high-pitched voice. Suzaku ran at Yuiko, making to hit her with the lighting in his hand. Yuiko leaped out of the way, the lighting barely touching her, but she abruptly felt like she was being electrocuted with ten thousand volts of electricity. Yuiko could help but scream in pain. Suzaku stood up, looking deeply amused and lustful.

p"You look so beautiful when your face is twisted in pain. The human race just doesn't appreciate you, do they? Don't see why. You are the only one who has even stood a chance against me in a very long time. You even have the good looks to rival your power." Suzaku knelt down to get a better look at Yuiko's tortured expressions. "I pity you. So gifted, yet no one cares. I can fix that, though." Yuiko began to hyperventilate. Her body had stopped hurting, but she stung all over, her lungs didn't seem to want to work, and her heart had stopped for a moment. "I can grant you demon hood if you promise to destroy all of the humans who took you for granted." Yuiko got up on her hands and knees.

p"Get away from me, sick-o!" Yuiko demanded, slapping him across the face. Suzaku glared at her. So pretty, so powerful, everything that a demon male would want in a female, but the attitude really needed to go.

p"Very well. If you do not want to become a demon and be my queen, I'll have to kill you and make you an example for the rulers of Spirit World that I, head of the Saint Beasts, should not be taken lightly, and that they should grant my request of getting rid of the barrier holding me captive here." Suzaku raised his hand to the sky again. "FIST OF DARK LIGHTING!"

p"GYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHRRRRRGGGGGGGGH!" Yuiko screamed in agony, rolling around on the floor. The pain surged through her so quickly that it hurt even more. She felt like her heart and lungs were being ripped out at the very touch of Suzaku's attack. She didn't know what was up, down, right, left, or the state of anything anymore except for her pain. When the pain slowly went away, she weakly got up off of the ground. She couldn't think straight. The sounds of Keiko crying and shrieking for help was the only thing she could concentrate on anymore, besides trying to stay standing upright. She had to destroy the whistle and help Keiko and Botan! She had to! They were the only female friends she had! "Suzaku." Yuiko gasped. Suzaku narrowed his eyes at her in a bored way. "I'm going to deliver you to hell even if I have to go there myself." Suzaku blinked and gasped, surprised to say the least. "You've scared the living heck out of my best friend, and you've set loose murderous zombies on her and Botan. For that, I'm not going to let you live. Even if I have to die in order for that to happen!" Suzaku stepped back. There was no way she could do that in her state. But, just in case . . . .

p"Fine." Suzaku said, closing his eyes. "Guess I'll have to kill you before you get to have a chance to fulfill that vow." Suzaku got into a weird pose with his ankles together, his knees bent, legs turned outward, his hands together with his fore fingers pointing upward toward the sky. "Demonic Array of Darkness!" Yuiko gasped in shock. Suzaku turned from one person, to seven demons who all looked like the first Suzaku. Like they were reflections of the real one. "I know what you're thinking. This is just some trick to catch me off guard, but I assure you, all seven of us are real. It's no cheap illusion. All seven Suzakus have the same strength, same powers as the first one." Yuiko gaped at the seven Suzakus. She was having trouble with one demon, and now there were six more. She was so dead. So very dead. All seven Suzakus raised their hands above their heads and Yuiko braced herself for what was bound to come. "Fist of Dark Lighting!" Yuiko dodged most of the assault, but was hit by the last one. She barely noticed that it didn't have so much of an effect this time.

p"You and your friends are going to die! Yes you are! Ha ha ha!" Murg laughed evilly. Yuiko narrowed her eyes at Murg.

p"SHUT UP YOU STUPID BIRD!" Yuiko shouted, hitting the green feathered animal with her fist. Murg coughed weakly and fell to the ground, once again unconscious. Or dead. Yuiko couldn't tell. "SHOT GUN!" The Suzakus were attacked with thousands of energy bullets. She was, surprisingly, able to kill two of them. The first Suzaku growled at her. "There's plenty more where that came from! If you call off your other yous, I'll be able to concentrate it all on you and we'll see which one of us deserves to be the victor. Think about it. The human race will be squashed out of every demon's worry because the strongest protector they had fell at your hands with only one of you having to fight, if you kill me. Better than wasting a perfectly good trick on a human girl like me, isn't it?" Yuiko, though didn't show it, was caught off guard at her deal-making with Suzaku. Suzaku seemed to be thinking about it and the other Suzakus disappeared.

p"You have a very good point. I'm rather impressed. I thought all you humans were idiots." Suzaku commented.

p"JUST FOR THAT I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS JUST AS HARD!" Yuiko yelled at him. The fight then continued, both of them getting rather beat up and the whistle, shockingly, lay on the ground completely forgotten.

p"FIST OF DARK LIGHTING!"

p"SHOT GUN!"

pOutside, Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara stood among the fallen brainwashed minions of the Saint Beasts and saw the lighting and spirit energy clash. Kurama gasped, Kuwabara gawked at the sky where the two forces were slowly disappearing in sparks, and Hiei just stared upward at it.

p"Someone's going to die." Hiei stated.

p"Then what are we standing around here for?! We've gotta help Yui!" Kuwabara exclaimed. The three of them ran up the tower.

pBack with Yuiko, Suzaku was lying on the ground, dead. Yuiko was inching toward the Makai Whistle, ready to smash it. The zombie humans were close enough to Keiko and Botan to kill them now, and that wouldn't be pretty. Yuiko grabbed the end of the whistle and crushed it with her bare hand with the last of her strength. She then passed out, waiting for the boys in her unconsciousness.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pKeiko and Botan were backed into a corner, surrounded by the brainwashed humans. Mr. Iwamoto held a long knife you'd find in a Japanese restaurant in his hand and was laughing.

p"Time for you to die, Yukimura!" Mr. Iwamoto shrieked. Keiko screamed for Yuiko, and suddenly, all of the people under the Makai Whistle's control fainted and fell to the ground. A grin spread across Botan's face.

p"She did it, Keiko! Yuiko saved the Human World!" Botan exclaimed. Keiko smiled and the two of them high-fived each other.

p"YES!"

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pHiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara finally reached Suzaku's lair and gasped at the state the room was in. The place was falling apart. It took searching for them to see Yuiko lying on the ground, the remains of the Makai Whistle in her right hand.

p"Yuiko!" Kuwabara and Kurama cried. Hiei stayed quiet, but his expression was proof that he was worried about the girl. The three of them ran over to her. Kurama knelt down and felt her pulse.

p"She's barely hanging on. Her pulse is faint and she's barely breathing." Kurama stated. Kuwabara gritted his teeth together. He was NOT going to let his best friend die! That just wasn't an option!

p"Get out of the way!" Kuwabara shouted, pushed Kurama away from her. Kurama blinked in surprise. "All she needs is a bit of energy, and you two's demon aura won't do a thing!" Kurama opened his mouth to say that in Kuwabara's state, giving energy wasn't a very wise thing to do, but the site of Yuiko in a dead-like state made him keep his mouth shut. Hiei didn't even bother to tell the human boy about it. Kuwabara grabbed Yuiko's wrist and flowed his energy into her to save her life. Kurama and Hiei watched, as silent as a lioness hunting zebra. Soon, Kuwabara fainted from giving all of his energy.

p"Hn. Guess we'll have to carry both of them out of here." Hiei commented. "I'm not carrying the oaf. You can do that." Kurama huffed to himself, then remembered how many times Yuiko had hit Kuwabara on the head for doing something she didn't want him to do, so if she didn't want to be carried out of the rubble, he didn't want to be the one getting punched in the face, so the red-head somewhat changed his mind and slung Kuwabara's arm over his shoulders. Hiei picked Yuiko off of the ground and held her bridesmaid style. Kurama raised an eyebrow at him. Hiei glared at Kurama. "I'd carry her like a potato sack, but I wouldn't want her to punch my face into the dirt for treating her body carelessly while she was unconscious. Unless I wanted a concussion, that is." Kurama chuckled at Hiei's concussion comment and the two demons went on their way to the Human World.

p-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pYuiko woke up and found herself in someone's room. She sat up, gasped from pain, and grabbed her shoulder.

p"Are you alright, Ms. Urameshi?" asked a soft voice. Yuiko looked up from her hurting shoulder and saw Kurama's human mother.

p"Mrs. Minamino?" Yuiko asked.

p"Yes, that's me. Suiichi's mother. We met in the hospital, remember?"

p"Yeah, I remember." Yuiko replied. It was hard to forget the day she had been told that the boy everyone knew to be Suiichi Minamino was actually a demon named Kurama who had stolen the Mirror of Forlorn Hope to save his 'mother' who really wasn't his original mother. "But, where am I?"

p"The guests room in Suiichi's and my house." Mrs. Minamino explained. "You've been out for three days, and Suiichi and your friend Kuwabara have been keeping an eye on you every chance they get. Your school has been a total mess. Kuwabara said that your teacher Mr. Iwamoto was being questioned by the police and that your principal Mr. Takenaka was in the hospital with a brain tumor." Mrs. Minamino frowned, but brightened up in a soft and peaceful way. "But enough about bad news. You'd you like a cup of tea?"

p"What about Keiko and Botan?" Yuiko questioned. Mrs. Minamino blinked in confusion.

p"Who?"

p"Keiko and Botan! They were trying not to be killed by a bunch of freaks the last time I was able to contact them!" Yuiko knew she shouldn't be shouting at the poor woman, but she always yelled when she was worried. Mrs. Minamino gasped and her hands went to her mouth.

p"I-I'm afraid Suiichi and Kuwabara didn't tell me anything about them." Mrs. Minamino admitted. Yuiko's eyes widened as she thought of only one possibility on why they wouldn't tell.

p"Wait. They're not - oh crap." Yuiko muttered. "Where's the closest phone?!"

p"Here's my cell phone." Mrs. Minamino said, taking out her cell and handing it to Yuiko. Yuiko quickly grabbed it and called the Yukimura residence. She heard a ringing sound for a long time before someone picked up.

p"Hello?" asked a male-sounding voice, and it wasn't Mr. Yukimura.

p"Kur- Suiichi?" Yuiko inquired.

p"Oh, hi Yuiko."

p"What are you doing at Keiko's?" There was a long pause. "Suiichi! What are you trying to hide!?" There was the sound of laughing in the background and it sounded an awful like Kuwabara. Yuiko narrowed her eyes. "Why is there laughter in the background?" Kurama burst out laughing. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?"

p"S-sorry! It was Kuwabara's idea, I swear! Ha ha ha!" Kurama laughed. "H-he th-thought it would be funny to make you think Keiko and Botan perished. I was against it though, but he insisted. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

p"You sure sound like you thought it was funny too! The next time I see the both of you, I'm punching both of your faces in, got that fox-boy!? How dare you and Kuwabara trick me like that! Making me think Keiko and Botan died!" She then hung up and accidentally threw the cell phone at Mrs. Minamino. "I apologize for threatening him, but Kuwabara's used to having his face bashed, and I'm not gonna take that sitting down!" Mrs. Minamino smiled at her.

p"To be honest, I would have grounded him if you hadn't taken it into her own hands."

pYuiko raised an eyebrow at her. "What's the point of grounding? You're only helping them learn to break away from certain things. Trust me. Kicking their butts is a much easier way. Always works with Kuwabara." Mrs. Minamino laughed good-heartedly and Yuiko chuckled a bit too. 


	15. The New Mission Chapter Fixed, I hope!

pYuiko was walking to school by herself. Keiko's other friends had got to Keiko first and they were already there, and Kuwabara said that he was just going to go with his guy friends. She was in a bad mood because of that, and the fact that Mr. Iwamoto was back at school and was definitely going to give her hell today. Yuiko was suddenly stopped by a black blur who tripped her. Yuiko fell and landed on her hands instead of her face.

p"What was that for!?" Yuiko demanded as she got up. She blinked and blushed when she saw it was Hiei. "Oh, it's you. You didn't have to trip me, you know."

p"I wanted to do this quick." Hiei explained snappishly. Behind them, Kuwabara and his friends Kamada, Akuro, and Shisimaru were walking and talking up a storm. Kuwabara laughed at a joke of Kamada's but stopped when he saw Yuiko and Hiei talking.

p"What's that shrimp doing here?" Kuwabara asked to no one in particular. His three guy friends stopped all laughing and looked at what Kuwabara was glaring at, which was Hiei to be more specific.

p"You know that Goth?" Shisimaru questioned. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes.

p"Sort of." he answered.

p"You wanted to do what quick?" Yuiko inquired to Hiei. Hiei took out a video tape from his coat and handed it to her. Yuiko took it and blinked at it. "What is it?"

p"Your next mission." Hiei snapped shortly and began to walk away. "And Detective," Yuiko glanced up at him. Hiei glared at her. "if you mess it up, I will kill you." Yuiko raised an eyebrow at him.

p"You care if I mess up a mission? Does it involve you or something?" Yuiko asked innocently. She didn't know she had hit a sore spot. In seconds, the tape fell from Yuiko's hands, crashed to the sidewalk, Yuiko was pushed onto the ground, Hiei on top of her with his kantana unsheathed and at her neck.

p"That doesn't concern you." Hiei whispered in a deadly forbidden way.

p"Hey!" Kuwabara yelled. Hiei turned his head and noticed Kuwabara and his friends standing there. "Leave her alone, shrimp!"

p"Kuwabara, you just called a deadly guy with a sword a shrimp. Not a good idea." Akuro stated. Hiei decided to ignore the blundering idiot, as he liked to think of Kuwabara as.

p"I hold your life in my hands, Detective. So I suggest you butt out of my business." Hiei said quietly.

p"So it does involve you?" Yuiko commented in a dry voice against better judgment. Hiei glared at her, failing to notice the dreamy look in her eye, and got off of her.

p"Believe what you want. I'm out of here." Hiei then left in a flash. Yuiko stood back up, grabbed the tape that fell on the sidewalk, hid it in her green waist jacket, and walked off.

pAt school, Yuiko wasn't having a good day. Mr. Iwamoto gave her detention for not wearing the school uniform, she failed the pop History test, Keiko's other friends poked fun at her behind Keiko's back during Science, and Kuwabara's other friends had told the whole school about what had happened between her and Hiei so everyone was bugging her about who Hiei was and why she was corresponding with a murderous boy. Yuiko wasn't really sure Hiei was a boy since he could have been years older than her and still look fifteen because demons can do that, and she didn't want to talk about it so she threatened everyone that if they didn't leave her alone she'd cause them so much pain they'd need to go to the hospital just to get the stinging to stop. She accidentally threatened the principal the same thing when he tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly apologized and was asked to stay a few minutes after her detention with Mr. Iwamoto. The only good part about the day besides going home was Gym. It was her best subject, even before she had faced the Saint Beasts, done her training with Genkai, and become a Spirit Detective.

pWhen Yuiko was finally allowed to leave the school, she called her mom to tell her that she was going to Kuwabara's for the afternoon. Mrs. Urameshi agreed to that and Yuiko was then bound to Kuwabara's. She decided to run there so she'd get there faster. To hurry up and finish with the boring things, we'll skip the ringing of the doorbell and being invited in by Shizuru and get right to the putting of the video into the VCR.

p"So Yuiko, what's the mission for?" Kuwabara asked right when she popped it in. Botan was sitting with them and had told them that the tape would look like fuzz to anyone without high spirit awareness. Yuiko glared at Kuwabara.

p"YOU'LL SEE IN A MINUTE!" Yuiko shouted at him. Kuwabara panicked and hid behind Botan. Botan sighed.

p"She have a bad day?" Botan asked Kuwabara. Kuwabara just nodded.

p"Shush. It's starting." Yuiko snapped. Koenma came onto the screen in his not-so-adorable-but-more-embarrassing baby form with the big hat and the little multi-colored robe. The strange part about it was that Koenma was holding his arm up into the air like the woman at the beginning of some of the movies does. "Uh . . . I'm not gonna ask." The picture on the screen then went to a red ogre with a gold circle around his head and neck like the lion at the beginning of a lot of movies does. The ogre did a pitiful roar. Yuiko and Kuwabara raised an eyebrow each.

p"Your boss has a lot of time on his hands." Kuwabara commented. The picture died down and the words KOENMA PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS came up in gold letters. Yuiko put her face in her hands.

p"This is embarrassing." the black-haired girl groaned. Finally, it truly did start. When the real Koenma came up, Kuwabara burst out laughing.

p"Your boss is an infant!?" Yuiko and Botan both hit Kuwabara over the head.

p"SHUT UP!"

p"Hello, Yuiko." the Koenma on the screen said. "I bet your wondering what your next assignment is. You have to rescue this girl named Yukina." The screen changed to show a window on a tower and inside the tower was a beautiful girl with sea green hair in a flowery kimono. Kuwabara's jaw dropped.

p"Whoa! Pinch me. I might be dreaming." Kuwabara rambled mindlessly. Yuiko glared at him. What ever happened to him thinking that she was pretty. Wait, what was she thinking?! That was crazy talk! Like she cared what Kuwabara thought of her or any other girl for that matter!

p"Yukina is an ice apparition. Ice apparitions have the ability to turn their tears into pearls, but it's not by will. Every time they cry the tears become priceless pearls. Yukina has been kidnapped by a greedy man named Takukane, part of the Black Black Club. Black Black Club is part of the black market, except they sell demons instead of priceless things. Takukane is only interested in Yukina's pearls because she's not human." Koenma explained.

p"What!?" Kuwabara shouted. He stood up and ran off. Yuiko stopped the tape.

p"Kuwabara! Where do you think you're going!?" Yuiko demanded.

p"To save Yukina!"

p"Get back here, Romeo!" Yuiko yelled after him. Shizuru, Kuwabara's sister, walked into the room with a tray of cups filled with hot chocolate, staring off in the direction her little brother was going in.

p"Who's Yukina? And why are you guys taking orders from a baby?" Shizuru asked. Yuiko and Botan panicked. "I overheard you guys talking about that only people with high spirit awareness could hear and watch the tape, so don't worry. I even have a higher spirit awareness than my baby brother, so the tape's not goofing up." Botan and Yuiko sighed in relief.

p"That's good news." Botan commented. "But shouldn't we go get him?"

p"Nah. He'll be coming back asking where he's supposed to go and if he can get some money for the train. Meanwhile, let's watch the rest of the tape." Shizuru replied. Yuiko rewinded the tape back a little and they listened to the tape all over again so that Shizuru knew what was going on. Then they got to the really interesting part.

p"The place you need to go to save her is hidden in the mountains. Almost no one knows where it is. Now, Yuiko, Yukina is a special type of ice apparition. There are two different kinds. The normal kind, and the Koormie." Koenma continued. "The Koormie are a race who are like the Amazon women from human myths. They are against all contacts with men and think of themselves as high above them, not to mention more powerful. The Koormie have the ability to give birth to children without having to mate, and that is by will. But if a Koormie decides to mate with a male, she has a pair of twins: a boy who looks much like his father, and a girl who looks exactly like her mother. The only thing linking them physically is their eye color, which is never the same as the mother's eyes. If the word gets out that a Koormie has mated with a male, the Koormie is then hunted down and murdered. The girl twin is kept with the tribe and the boy is cast out into the freezing sea to die. They kill the father if he is to be found. The girl twin is kept completely in the dark unless she finds out the secret that she has a twin brother from the Koormie who had killed her mother thinks it's time to tell her. Yukina is the child of one of those Koormie who had mated with a male, a fire demon to be more specific." Yuiko raised an eyebrow. This mattered how? It wasn't until Koenma said his next thing before she and Botan understood. "Yukina's brother is Hiei."

p"Hiei?" Yuiko gasped.

p"Oh my god!" Botan cried. Shizuru stopped the tape.

p"I'm guessing this is something shocking." Shizuru commented dryly. Botan held a trembling hand to her heart and nodded.

p"Hiei's an infamous thief and murderer. Yuiko threw him into jail, then he was released so he could do community service to make up for all he had done. Hiei had helped Yuiko save the Human World from the evil Saint Beasts. You know, when all those strange bugs were infesting the city." Botan explained.

p"I see. No wonder this is such a big shock. From this tape, it sounds like Yukina's a innocent girl who's being treated badly by evil bastards. Oops, sorry, Yui. I forgot your mother was never married." Shizuru said. She blinked when she realized that Yuiko wasn't showing any sign in noticing her and Botan's conversation. "Yui?"

p"Hiei." Yuiko whispered to herself. She was thinking back to the first time she had met Hiei. He was a fierce fighter, the toughest she had ever faced before trying to become Genkai's student. He had a murderous, dangerous aura around him, too. He was so powerful. And back when he and Kurama had showed up to fight the Saint Beasts, he had been so distrustful of everything. And when he had given her the tape for the mission, she knew it had to involve him somehow. She just didn't expect that. Now it made complete sense. Hiei didn't have anyone to look after him, even as a small infant. He needed to be aggressive in order to live, and it was no wonder that he was so distrustful since he had been thrown into an ice-cold ocean. It's a miracle he was alive!

pBotan touched Yuiko's shoulder and brought her out of her reverie. Yuiko blinked and turned to the girl with ice-blue hair. "Are you okay, Yuiko? You looked like you were in a trance." Botan inquired. Yuiko looked away from her.

p"I'm fine. Play the rest of the tape, Shizuru." Yuiko said. Shizuru didn't do anything.

p"I think you have an idea on what Koenma wants you to do, Yui. He wants to go save Yukina before Hiei goes on a killing spree. We'll wait for Kazuma, since he should be here in exactly one minute." Shizuru replied, standing up. "I'll get you three some money, then you can all go on your way." Shizuru then left the room. Botan stood up.

p"I'll go wait for him on the porch." Botan announced and left the room too. Yuiko just sat there, thinking about what she just learned. When Shizuru came back with the money, she sat back down next to Yuiko.

p"Want to talk about it?" Shizuru asked. Yuiko tensed.

p"I just can't believe it. That anyone would treat a baby like that. Poor Hiei." Yuiko mumbled just loud enough for Shizuru to hear. Tears were swelling up in her eyes. She closed them and wiped them. "He'd probably kill me if he knew I said that." Shizuru picked up one of the forgotten cups of hot chocolate and handed it to Yuiko.

p"Here." Shizuru said, pushing it in Yuiko's face. The black-haired girl took it and sipped from it quietly. Shizuru, though a tough girl like Yuiko, was more calm than the younger one and knew how to read any female with a problem. Especially if it was a boy/love problem. "I know it's hard to believe. But some people are like that. Did you listen to how Yukina gives pearls? Those creeps are probably tormenting her, and she did nothing to them. Same thing with Hiei's mother's kind. He had done nothing to harm them, but they had killed his mother and tossed him into what they hoped would be his underwater grave." Yuiko choked on the tears she was holding in. Shizuru put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a one-armed hug. "He lived, and that's what matters. The past can't be changed. But you can save his sister and make sure she lives to see at least a few more years. I bet that'd make him happy, even if he's too big a jerk to say thank you." Yuiko giggled at that and took another sip of hot chocolate. The sounds of Kuwabara finally returning could be heard in the hallway. "We can talk more about Hiei later. Right now you've got an ice apparition to rescue." Yuiko nodded and the two girls stood up. "Here's the money for the train. And put a leash on that ridiculous baby brother of mine. Just so you don't lose him." Yuiko burst out laughing, took the money, handed the cup back to Shizuru, wiped her eyes, and left, her, Botan, and Kuwabara saying a quick goodbye. Shizuru watched them go toward the train station, Yuiko stopping Botan from telling Kuwabara about Hiei's relation to Yukina by stepping on Botan's foot. Shizuru was smiling, her long brown hair blowing in the wind. "I knew she'd go for the rough boys. Rougher than Kazuma, anyway." 


	16. Chapter 16

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. And I'm so, SO sorry that this took so long! I haven't been able to log in for two years! That's why it took so long! Don't yell at me, please! This chapter's going to be kind of short because I can't remember the Yukina arc that well. 

-

Chapter Sixteen

Yuiko, Kuwabara, and Botan arrived at the mountainous terrain where Yukina was. Yuiko wore a black-and-green tank top, tight black shorts, green waist jacket, and worn sneakers; Kuwabara still puzzled over how fast she could change clothes (and on a train, even).

"Let's go!" Yuiko ordered her team.

Nodding, they took off into the distance.

-

Takukane glared at the scene in front of him. Wasn't that girl the new terror in the Demon Plane? What was her name again? Urameshi something? Takukane chuckled menacingly to himself. He was going to have fun betting on this girl.

"Butler, go call the Black Black Club," Takukane ordered, smirking evilly. "And make it quick."

-

"Gosh, those guys were easy," Kuwabara commented, looking at the bloody mess Yuiko and he left in their wake.

"BOTAN! WHAT'S THE REPORT?" Yuiko shouted.

"SHE'S IN A TOWER!" Botan yelled from her position on her oar. "IT'S ON THE OTHER END OF THE BUILDING! THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO HER IS THROUGH THE BUILDING BECAUSE OF THE OFUDA SCROLLS SURROUNDING THE AREA!"

"Crap," Yuiko muttered; Hiei would be furious if she failed to save his sister.

She increased her speed. Kuwabara struggled to keep up, but he tried his best.

-

Hiei sensed familiar spirit energy. It was her, and he sensed that her determination and adrenaline were reaching to the top of the charts. He smirked at how well he could read her. It was almost pathetic. If he could, then anyone would be able to, including her enemies. He might as well save her ass while he's at it.

The fire demon sped up and reached the forest surrounding Takukane's mansion.

-

Kuwabara blinked at how fast Yuiko beat the last three up. Yes, he helped, but she acted as though she wanted to do it all by herself, like she was that revved up.

"We going or what?" she called over her shoulder at Kuwabara.

Kuwabara snapped out of his reverie and ran after her.

-

"That's another bet you've lost, Takukane," a man said, smirking as he pulled some of his long black hair out of his face.

Takukane glared at him, looking past the intimidating scar across the man's face.

"You just wait, Sakio! The Toguro brothers will nail these brats!" Takukane declared.

"I hope so, or else not even Yukina's pearls will keep you out of debt, seeing that she'll be out of your grasp," Sakio said calmly, smirk ever present.

-

Hiei growled at the bars over Yukina's window. The ofuda scrolls prevented him from getting any closer. He'd have to reveal his presence to the detective in order to save her.

Like he thought before, he was going to have to save Yuiko's ass. He could sense the dangerous spirit energy from where he stood, and the source was deep within the mansion.

-

"Should I go help them?" Kurama asked Koenma.

Koenma knitted his eyebrows together and sighed.

"I'm worried about what those Toguro brothers can do. I've never seen them in action, but I hear they're ruthless. Perhaps . . . perhaps you should go. But, I must ask, Kurama, why are you so anxious to help her?" Koenma said.

"If you must know, Koenma-sama, Yui-chan has done more than just saving my life. She has given me another reason to live."

Koenma gazed deeply into Kurama's green irises, trying to read the fox's mind through those deep fathoms of emerald.

"You truly do care about her."

Kurama nodded.

"Alright. Go and help her. But be careful."

"Yes sir."

-

"TAKUKANE! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU COWARDLY SNAKE?" Yuiko screamed as she burst through two doors.

Kuwabara ran in after her and Botan after him. Hiei took a right instead and ran up a flight of stairs; he was surprised that the three of them hadn't noticed him yet.

The detective paid almost no attention to who was in her way of Takukane. She merely launched a power-housed kick out at whoever was there. All she noticed about him was that he was really tall.

She found herself skidding across the room on her back. She got back up and ran at him again, powering up a Shot Gun.

"Yui! Do you even know what you're doing?" Kuwabara exclaimed; he knew Yuiko normally didn't run at an opponent like a madwoman. "Ah, screw this! Reiki!"

The man tossed them both across the room. Before Yuiko could charge again, however, firm yet soft hands grabbed her arms and held her back.

"LET GO!" she screamed.

"Calm down first. You won't win if you fight blindly," advised a familiar voice; Yuiko's mind was in too much of an adrenaline-rushed haze to pinpoint exactly who it was. "Please calm down. Not only is Yukina's freedom at stake, but so are Kuwabara's and your lives. Calm down for your, Yukina's, and Kuwabara's sake. For my sake."

The smell of herbs used in tea filled Yuiko's senses and she instantly calmed down. She opened her eyes and everything returned into focus.

"Kurama?" she guessed.

"Yes. Now, think before you attack. You know this. I know you do."

"Okay. Mind throwing an idea in?"

"Sure."

Kurama whispered his suggestion and Yuiko smirked approvingly.

"I like that. Hey! Kuwabara! Heads up!"

-

"Thank you all for saving me," Yukina said, bowing politely.

"Nah, it wasn't a problem," Yuiko said.

"Anything for a pretty woman like you, Yukina-san!" Kuwabara said.

Yuiko, Kurama, and Botan rolled their eyes.

"I am forever in your debts," Yukina insisted.

"Ah, sure. Whatever you say," Yuiko said, just wanting to leave now; she felt light-headed and tired after going through an adrenaline-and-spirit-energy-draining ordeal.

She held her head with her left hand and forced a smile on her face as she watched Yukina walk off into the snowy distance. She barely heard Yukina's "I'll see you again someday" before she collapsed into Kurama's arms.

"Yui-chan? Are you alright?" Kurama asked.

"Going beddy-bye now," Yuiko grumbled and she fell asleep in Kurama's arms.

-

Red Roses2: Short chap, I know. My deepest apologizes. Just please, no death threats or promises or torture. Please? 


	17. Chapter 17

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. This is Chapter Seventeen, and this is completely made-up by me. We'll pick up back where the episodes take over in the next chapter. Think of it as a filler episode. You know the rules, no flames, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated however. Please report any OOC-ness.

-

Yuiko tapped her pencil as she stared up at the ceiling. There was still five more minutes of math, five more minutes of torture. Then she would be able to get out of there. For some reason, boredom crept upon her ever since the end of her last mission. Nothing exciting had happened since her mission to save Yukina. Yuiko thought that she might like a rest from working, but that wasn't the case. She hated it!

The bell rang and Yuiko walked out of the school, stretching and yawning. Now what? She was too bored to really do anything that was coming to mind. Maybe she could pester Kuwabara into sparring with her like she did before she got run over by the car?

"Yui!" called a familiar voice.

She turned around and saw Kurama walking toward her. She blinked. She thought he went to school on the other side of town.

"Hey, K- Suiichi!" Yuiko called out to him. "What'cha doin' here?"

"Well, I thought we could study together this evening," Kurama suggested, turning slightly pink; she blinked but shrugged it off as him being hot.

"Fine. I don't have anything else to do. Are you doing it at your place?" she asked.

"AAAAHHH! IT'S MINAMINO SUIICHI!"

Yuiko twitched and Kurama stepped back a bit.

"There just had to be fan girls at this school," Yuiko grumbled.

She grabbed Kurama's hand and ran off down the street with him. Screams and shouts of "BRING HIM BACK YOU WHORE!" echoed through the air. Yuiko felt the confused look Kurama gave her, but she didn't answer his unspoken question. She kept running until they found themselves in the midst of a crowd uptown.

"I have a reputation of being a horrible person. But I've never dated anyone unless you count hanging out with Kuwabara so I don't know where they get the 'whore' thing from," she explained.

Kurama nodded and looked around. He took her hand into his and pulled her towards a restaurant.

"Hey!" she said. "Where are you taking me?"

"My mother's sister works here. If you go through the backdoor at the end of the kitchens, you're at a short-cut to my house. And, if you're hungry, we can also have a bite to eat while we're here."

Yuiko rolled her eyes at his gentlemanliness. He acted too nice when they weren't on missions. To her, it was almost as if he was patronizing her. But she knew he wouldn't do that, so she wasn't too frustrated by it.

"Nah, let's just go to your house. Besides, I wouldn't eat there anyway. Too many stuck-up chicks and snobby rich boys."

"As you wish."

Kurama smiled at her and opened the door. All eyes turned to them. Kurama received some waves and Yuiko gathered nothing but glares. Whether or not it was because they knew who she was or because of her torn-up jeans and green-and-black tank top, she didn't know and didn't care. Kurama led her to the kitchens and the backdoor.

"So you have qualms of eating here like a normal person, but you'll steal some food from someone else's plate?" Kurama asked, looking over his shoulder; Yuiko's hand froze two inches away from a piece of chicken.

"What? It's not like they're going to miss it!" she retorted, shoving both of her hands into her pockets.

Kurama shook his head and continued to walk towards the door. Yuiko waited a few moments then stole the piece of chicken. She bit into it and savored its taste. Kurama sighed; there was no point in telling her to put it back now.

He opened the backdoor and they reentered the outside. She finished chewing the stolen chicken and swallowed. Kurama gave her a disapproving look.

"Hey, you used to steal stuff all the time!" Yuiko said, seeing the disapproving look.

Kurama sighed again and smiled guiltily.

"I guess there's no point in denying it."

"How much longer until we reach your house?"

"Oh, only a few more minutes."

"And how many do you mean by a few?"

"Why do you think that I would mean anything other than a few?"

"Whenever I say 'a few more minutes' I actually mean a couple more hours. Is that the same with you?"

"Unfortunately, yes, yes it is," he said guiltily and with a sad smile.

Yuiko couldn't help but laugh.

"I have a question, Kurama."

"Go right ahead."

"How come you pretend so much? I know you don't always act like the nice, polite guy everyone thinks you are. I mean, being nice to your mom is one thing. Being nice to everyone you meet in public is just plain weird and, to an extent, wrong. No one knows who you really are."

"How come everyone mistakes you for someone horrible when you're so compassionate, kind, loyal, and encouraging?"

"Those are just my good points. You left out easily frustrated, ill tempered, loud, and like to fight and hit things. No one knows of your faults, though, not even me."

"Oh, I think you do know."

"And what is that?"

"My little manipulating trait which you pointing out only moments ago."

"You mean acting? That's a fault of yours?"

"Yes, I don't let many people in, but I don't let people know that. In human society, when people feel like others are pushing people away in obvious ways, such as being rude, violent, ect., they feel like they need to change that. But, if it's not obvious, like someone who is able to have a polite conversation and participate in as much as possible, then they believe that there's nothing to change and leave it alone. Have you noticed this?

Yuiko tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, I haven't. What you're saying doesn't make any sense at all."

"Well, it's true. You've experienced it yourself. You don't try to shut people out, however. People just assume that's what you're trying to do and are trying to change that about yourself. They just don't understand that you're just different."

". . . . . Okay . . . . . ."

"You're still confused, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes I am, but I don't think you should try and get me to understand because that might make me more confused."

Kurama laughed and shrugged. They walked in silence after that. She hummed a little out of boredom. He glanced at her every now and then. He slowly turned red and resisted looking at her so often. She noticed this.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said.

She smirked.

"There's the secretive fox I know!"

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly. She loved bringing that up, didn't she?

"Personally, I like you better when you're like that. All tough-like yet seemingly gentle, like a real rose. It's pretty, but get too close and it'll prick you. That's what I like about you."

Kurama blushed again. That's what I like about you.

"Hey, is this your place?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it is."

"It's huge!"

"Well, compared to your apartment, it probably is."

"How'd you know I had an apartment?"

He smiled slyly.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

She sniggered. She did say that she liked it when he was mysterious, now didn't she?

In the shadows, a familiar opponent hid. The problem: he was supposed to be dead.

"You and I will have a real fight soon enough, Detective."

-

Red Roses2: I know this chapter probably does suck, but I wanted to do a filler to put more romantic meat into the story. Report grammatical errors, OOC-ness, ect., and thank you everyone for reviewing and not murdering me. 


	18. PreDark Tournament

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Yu-Hakusho. There's going to be Hiei in this one, so don't worry Hiei-fans. Kurama-fans, you'll also get your fair share of Kurama, too.

-

"What do you want?" Yuiko asked, her voice trembling.

How could he be here? He died . . . didn't he?

Toguro stood in front of her, in warm flesh and pumping blood, no scars or wounds adorning his body, no signs that he had ever been killed.

"I want you to go to the Dark Tournament. I'll give you a real fight there. I threw that last match to you because of a bet. Sakio said that if he won the bet, he'd give my brother and me fifty percent."

"What's the Dark Tournament?"

"It's a fight between demons, usually. But humans aren't forbidden to participate. Your team can be the guest team."

"Why are you telling me this? Why not fight me now?" she yelled at him, her legs trembling; why was she feeling so scared?

What was so significant of him coming back?

"I know you're Genkai's student. I know you're not at the top of your potential. I want to fight you at your best so I can prove that she was wrong."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Come to the tournament and I'll tell you."

Yuiko's fists clenched; her fists were the only part of her not trembling.

"THAT'S NOT A GOOD ENOUGH ANSWER!"

She ran at him and threw a punch. He caught it and clamped his fingers around her fist. He tightened his grip.

"AAAARRRGH!"

Yuiko fell to the ground, crying out in pain and holding her hand.

"See what I mean? I'll see you at the tournament."

He disappeared after that.

-

"Kurama?"

"Yuiko? Is that you?"

"Yeah. I need you to come with me to this tournament. It's called the Dark Tournament. I was told you'd know where it's supposed to be."

"How do you know what that is?"

"So you know where it is?"

"Yes, but that's not the point."

"Okay. In a month we'll meet up at the docks then."

Click. Silence.

"Yuiko! Yuiko! Why'd she hang up?"

-

"Hello?"

"Kuwabara?"

"Yui-chan? Hey! How's it going?"

"Fine. In a month, I'll need you to show up at the docks. There's this tournament you have to come with me to. It's called the Dark Tournament."

"Sounds morbid. You sure?"

"Yeah. You'll be there?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Good. See you later."

-

"Hiei, I know you're out here."

"Hn. What do you want, Detective?"

"I want you to come with me to the Dark Tournament. I want you to be part of the team."

"How do you even know about it?"

"It's a long story, and I know you probably don't want to hear it."

"Humor me."

Silence. Hiei stepped out of the shadows and moved toward her.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

His eyes widened at the sight of her bandaged hand.

"What the hell happened?"

Brown eyes locked with crimson irises.

"You coming or what?"

"Only if you tell me why you're going."

"Remember that big guy with all the muscles who was in the way of us rescuing your sister?"

"Yes."

"He's alive and is forcing me to go. Something about Genkai and wanting a real fight."

"Did he do that to your hand?"

"Yeah. He's stronger than I thought."

"Hn. That's why you don't just blindly pick a fight with people, Detective."

"Are you coming?"

"Hn. I guess."

"'Kay. Meet me at the docks in a month."

"Detective?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get yourself paralyzed. I want a rematch someday, too."

She smirked half-heartedly.

"You got it."

-

"Genkai-sensei?"

"Yuiko-chan, what are you doing here? You're training was finished."

The elderly woman turned around and gasped at the girl's hand.

"Do you know a man named Toguro?"

". . . . How do you know about him?"

"He wants me to enter the Dark Tournament. He wants a rematch, and something about proving you wrong. Please, you have to make me your pupil again. You're the only person to ever really teach me anything. I need you to teach me how to beat him. S-something about him . . . scares the hell out of me. I – I need help overcoming that. I can't fight if I'm scared out of my wits. Help me, Genkai-sensei. Please."

Genkai stared at her for a minute then nodded.

"Yes, I'll train you once again. But I won't go any easier on you. If anything, I'll go harder on you. Meaning there'll be no more fighting-coming-easy-for-you stuff."

"Yes, sensei."

-

Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara stood amongst other Dark Tournament fighters, waiting for Yuiko to arrive. Hiei lounged up in a tree, Kurama leaned against the tree Hiei was in, and Kuwabara sat on the ground next to Kurama.

"Where is she? This Dark Tournament was her idea. What is it, anyway?" Kuwabara asked.

"Hn," Hiei grunted. "You really are stupid. You agreed to come when you didn't know what it was?"

"Hey! She wouldn't ask me if she didn't need my help! Besides, she's having a hard time at school and questions are getting on her nerves more and more!" Kuwabara retorted.

"Why is that?" Kurama asked.

"Keiko – Yuiko's best friend – has been trying to get information on what she's been doing lately, meaning the detective stuff." Kuwabara said; this instantly got Kurama's and Hiei's attention. "I mean, sure I know, but I know on accident. Yui-chan didn't tell me or nothing, I found out all on my own because I had wanted to be Genkai's apprentice when Rando was trying to become her apprentice. Anyway, Keiko's been really worried and wanted to know. But Keiko-chan is really persistent and sometimes won't take a 'No, I won't tell you' for an answer. It got to the point that Keiko-chan threatened to end their friendship if Yui-chan didn't tell her. She didn't mean it, of course, but Yui-chan won't admit it but she's always had a fear of that, so she thought she did mean it, so she said 'Fine, like I care!' and walked off. They haven't talked to each other since."

"So she's lost a friend," Kurama inferred.

"Yep," Kuwabara confirmed.

"Hn. Whatever. You humans are emotionally fragile," Hiei said.

"You take that back!" Kuwabara shouted, standing up and raising a fist to Hiei.

The fire demon glanced at him, piercing the human teenager with his crimson stare. Kuwabara refused to back down, though. No one insulted Yuiko and got away with it if he knew about it.

"It's true, you buffoon. Human girls are the worst. They break down crying every time something horrible happens to them. At least you human boys have more backbone."

"I'll show you!" Kuwabara exclaimed, moving as though he was going to climb up the tree to get to Hiei.

"Calm down, you two. What I was thinking, leaving the three of you alone together, I have no idea, but I'm here now so you guys cut it out," said the voice of the boys' favorite female.

"Yui-chan!" Kuwabara said, looking in her direction. "Gah! You look horrible! Who'd you train with? A grizzly bear?"

Yuiko laughed good-naturedly.

"Nah, I trained with Genkai-sensei," she explained, rubbing the nape of her neck sheepishly.

"I see your hand is healed," Hiei commented.

Kurama raised an eyebrow at Hiei.

"What do you mean her hand is healed? When was it injured?" Kurama inquired.

Hiei didn't respond. In a blink of an eye, Hiei lunged at Yuiko with his sword. Their actions were blurred so barely anyone saw what happened, but when it ended, neither was injured and Hiei sheathed his sword. He smirked.

"I see the old woman taught you well," Hiei commented.

She grinned foxily.

"Yep! Genkai-sensei is awesome!"

"I've been wondering who our fifth member is. The team needs five members. There's only four here," Hiei said, changing the subject.

"No, there's five," Yuiko said, jabbing her thumb in a direction behind her.

The three boys looked into the shadows and saw a short person with a rag for a mask.

"What? He's shorter than Hiei!"

"That must mean he can kick your ass, buffoon."

"HEY!"

"Shut up, you two," Yuiko said, "Come on, we have to get on the – yyyyaaaawwwnn – boat."

-

The boat floated atop the sea, bobbing up and down. Kuwabara barfed over the side of the boat. Kurama, the masked fighter, Yuiko, and Hiei sat against the side of the boat. Yuiko had fallen asleep and was leaning slightly on a disgruntled Hiei. He tried pushing her off of him, but he failed miserably.

'How much does she weigh?' Hiei thought to himself, the feeling of breath on his neck making him uncomfortable. The sensation caused a rather embarrassing reaction that Hiei didn't even know he was capable of. That reaction was an erection.

Now, did Hiei feel real emotions for a weak human? Of course not! Right? That was ridiculous! Right? Wasn't it?

He forced the blush that wanted to work its way onto his face to disappear. It was stupid for fall for the detective. She was a weak human who just happened to be lucky enough to kick his ass. She didn't mean anything to him. All he wanted was to defeat her and move on with his life. That's all he wanted . . . right?

"Attention passengers! All the teams are you fight for the guest team status! Take one of your team members and put them in the elevated ring!" rang the voice of the captain through a speaker.

"I thought we were the guest team," Kuwabara said.

"We are, but apparently these others have other plans," Kurama replied.

The masked fighter stood up and walked up to the ring.

"I say that we just kill them all and be done with it," Hiei muttered.

"Hiei! We can't do that! That's - !"

"Against your honor code? You're going to get us all killed someday," Hiei retorted.

"Why you!"

"Meh, stop arguin' wit' Hiei, Kuwabara," grumbled Yuiko in her sleep. Her boys looked at her. "You're distractin' me from trainin'." A snore was all that came from her after that.

Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei all glanced at each other then looked back at Yuiko.

That was a bit scary.

-

Kurama, Kuwabara, the masked fighter, and Hiei (who had been stuck with carrying Yuiko) walked into the hotel. Kurama went to talk with the man at the front desk. Kuwabara gaped at how many rich people were there. The masked fighter stood near Hiei, never taking her eyes off of him. Hiei glared at the masked fighter, still fighting off a blush because his 'damn body' wouldn't calm down.

"She likes you, you know," the masked fighter said suddenly in a surprisingly high feminine voice.

Hiei turned his head in the masked fighter's direction, his face showing how unexpected that was.

"She likes you more than you probably deserve. She thinks of Kurama and Kuwabara as brothers, did you know that? But she thinks of you differently. But she thinks you wouldn't care. She's most likely right. Cold-hearted assholes like you never care, not really. She's better off without you."

"Hn," was all Hiei would say to that. Stupid, weak, infuriating, stubborn, hot-headed, beautiful detective. Wait, beautiful? Where the hell did THAT come from? Maybe he needed his head checked.

-

Red Roses2: See? Lots of Hiei. Please review. 


	19. Yuiko vs Chu

Red Roses2: Amazing! I'm updating this one! Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Everyone thank for the episodes I used to refresh my memory!

-

Chu and Yuiko stood in the ring, waiting for Koto to give them the signal to start.

"Hey, cutie, why don't you forfeit? Don't want you to break a nail," Chu said as the glazed look to his eye disappeared somewhat.

Yuiko glared at him.

"Okay, rule number one: never call me cutie or anything close to that. Rule number two: don't ever say anything about worrying that I'll break a nail. I don't give a crap about that shit. Now, why don't we start this thing?" Yuiko snapped. 

"No complaints there," Chu said.

"Begin!" Koto announced.

Chu swayed back and forth, stepping here, stepping there, and sped up his pace. Yuiko could barely keep up with his speed before he attacked. She blocked his first blow, but she couldn't dodge the second one, or the four that came after it. They sent her flying into the air and Chu followed her up there and punched her back down. She hit the arena floor with a sickening crack.

"Yui!" Kuwabara cried.

"That's incredible," Kurama said, terror evident in his eyes.

Hiei grunted; Kurama cared about her too much. Chu could kill the girl for all Hiei cared.

"It is impressive," Hiei said as he looked on. A pang in his chest thumped against his ribcage. He winced and ignored it.

Yuiko stood back up, acting as though she hadn't just been used as a punching bag, and threw a barrage of punches at Chu. He dodged every single punch, still using the odd, almost drunk-like walking.

"Stop moving, damn it!" Yuiko shouted.

Chu dodged once again and threw a punch. Yuiko dodged it and threw another punch. He dodged it again and came behind her. He punched again, but she was able to block it. She wasn't so lucky with the second one, or the ones that followed. She stumbled back and charged at him, punching continuously.

"Hey! Maybe you should try something else, Yui!" Kuwabara shouted from the sidelines.

"I know what I'm doing, Kuwabara!" Yuiko retorted; she landed a punch square in Chu's jaw.

Chu hit the ground with a sickening thud, then somehow disappeared and ended up behind her. He kicked her across the arena, the grass, and into the wall. Chu fell over, his face a deep red as though he was drunk. He motioned Koto to come closer to him. He took the microphone away from her.

"I need another drink!" He yelled into the microphone and proceeded to glomp Koto.

As Koto began the count, Kuwabara and Kurama started to worry.

"I hope she gets up," Kuwabara said.

"Me too." Kurama agreed.

"I really don't want to fight Chu as a tie-breaker," Kuwabara admitted.

"If she gets up like a real fighter, you won't have to. And even if she doesn't, I'll fight him for you," Hiei said. "Besides, who would let a weakling like you decide the outcome of all the matches?"

"Hey!" Kuwabara said.

"Nine!" Koto said, about to say ten, but Yuiko blasted herself from the rubble and landed in the ring.

"That could've ended badly," Yuiko said, smirking.

"ATTA GIRL!" screamed a familiar voice.

Yuiko froze. She turned around. No way. It couldn't be . . . .

Atsuko stood in the stands, practically climbing on top of Keiko and cheering her on. Shizuru sat next to Keiko and Botan next to Shizuru. Keiko pushed Atsuko off of her and stood up too.

"COME ON! RIP HIM A NEW ONE!" Keiko shouted.

Yuiko turned back around, blushing a bit.

"Do they have to be so embarrassing?" she asked.

Chu raised an eyebrow.

"Are they your family?" Chu asked.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Just wanted to know. Demons don't really have mothers, you know. Are those other three your sisters?"

"Nah, one's Kuwabara's sister, Botan helps me with Spirit World stuff, and Keiko's my friend. The one who won't stop screaming is my mother."

"BEAT HIM TO A PULP!" Atsuko yelled.

"SHUT UP, MOTHER!" Yuiko retaliated.

Chu burst out laughing. Yuiko raised an eyebrow at him.

"How 'bout we give them a better show to watch? There's this technique I think everybody wants to see." Chu said.

Yuiko got into a ready stance. She just hoped it would be too much for her.

-

Red Roses2: R and R, please! 


	20. Yuiko vs Chu Part II

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. And I'll think about the YuikoJin thing. I see where you're coming from, though.

-

Chu took something out of his pocket. He showed it to Yuiko.

"This is ogresbande. It's from the Demon World. Packs a hell of a punch." Chu said before he drank it all.

"Everyone get away from the edges of the ring!" Rinku shouted.

Yuiko stared, confused. Hiei grunted. Kurama took a step back. Kuwabara took more than a few steps back. Suddenly, Chu began to make horrible grunting noises, sounding as though he were in pain. Yuiko braced herself. Chu turned around, knelt down at the edge of the ring, and the sounds of him puking echoed through the stadium.

Koto and Yuiko watched in disbelief. The microphone almost fell out of Koto's hand.

"I warned you." Rinku said. "But now the real fun starts."

Yuiko tensed slightly, but not as much as she would with someone like Hiei or Suzaku. This guy, despite the beating he gave her a few minutes ago, didn't seem like he was that big of a threat.

'The alcohol smell is fading . . . .' Kurama thought. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "The alcohol is blending with his demonic aura!"

Kuwabara looked at the fox.

"What? Is that even possible?" Kuwabara asked.

Hiei narrowed his eyes.

'Be careful, Detective,' Hiei thought. He erased the thought from his head.

Chu stood up and smirked. He made quick motions with his hands, his aura wrapping around them. Koto announced that it looked as though Chu were treating his aura like it was cotton candy. Hiei muttered something about an aura alchemist. A ball full of blue energy appeared in Chu's hand.

"You ready, Urameshi?" Chu asked.

"I don't need to be asked that," Yuiko said confidently, powering up her rei gun.

"Hey, that thing looks like her rei gun!" Kuwabara said.

"Yes, but it appears to hold much more power than the rei gun!" Kurama replied, biting his lip. Hiei glared at Kurama. Softie. The Human World must've weakened his senses, Hiei thought. The fire demon looked back at the fight.

Chu threw his energy ball. Yuiko shot her rei gun. When the two shots hit, they made static electricity and crackling sounds until they made a gigantic POP! Chu ran at Yuiko and vice versa and exchanged blow after blow. Neither blocks.

Kuwabara cringed. Kurama bit too hard on his lower lip; he drew a bit of blood. Hiei clenched his fists; his face contorted into a half-wince. The masked fighter showed no emotion whatsoever, but that might've been caused by the mask.

Chu pulled a reverse punch from the right and hit Yuiko across the face. She traveled a few feet. Chu then began to create another energy ball, this time bigger. She attempted to get a better footing.

"This is it!" Rinku shouted.

"If she dodges that, it'll be good because he'll be out of energy," Hiei said.

"But her balance is off by too much. And she can't counter!" Kurama said, the blood from his lip rolling down his chin.

Chu threw the ball at Yuiko. She raised her arm for a rei gun.

"What is she doing? She's used up her rei gun already!" Kuwabara yelled.

In the stands, Atsuko held onto Keiko, crying that she didn't want to loose her baby again. Keiko attempted to tell her that it would be okay and that Yuiko would be fine, but the brunette wondered how Yuiko would do that.

"Double Rei Gun!" Yuiko screamed.

Two rei gun shots erupted from her index finger. They charged at Chu's giant energy ball. They shot through Chu's ball, extracting bits and pieces of the ball into themselves, and attacked Chu head-on. Yuiko braced herself before the ball hit her. When the smoke disappeared, they were no where in sight.

"Where'd they go? Did they dodge or are they out of the ring?" Koto asked, turning around. "Wow! They're right behind me, and both are standing! They look awfully beat-up, though!"

Chu and Yuiko panted. Chu chuckled a bit. After a while, Yuiko joined him. They laughed until the volume reached the point where everyone in the stadium could hear.

"I'm out of juice, and you are too, right?" Chu said.

"Yeah, you are. I'm not sure what you see is so funny, though," Yuiko replied.

"Well, we both tried so hard to get to this point, and we can barely stand," Chu explained. "And there isn't a winner yet."

Yuiko burst out laughing. She had to hold her sides to stay standing.

"But there is a winner," she said.

Chu blinked. She raised her arm again.

"REI GUN!"

A fourth shot flew through the air and hit Chu square in the chest. The blast carried him to the arena wall where it cemented him there. After the dust died down, Koto began to count. Yuiko panted and fell to her knees. She felt like taking a nap.

"10! Team Urameshi is the winner!" Koto announced. The crowd uproared and shouted protests but they were ignored. Yuiko stumbled over to the others.

"I'll explain about the extra rei gun shots once we get to the hotel room," Yuiko mumbled. "Just get me away from here. It's way too loud."

-

Yuiko sat on the couch with a cup of hot tea. Kurama sat next to her while Kuwabara sat on the couch across from her. Hiei sat on the couch's arm. They waited for her to begin.

"Okay, part of my training with Genkai was getting to the point where I could shoot more than one bullet. To be honest, I didn't expect to get to the point where I could shoot four. I thought that I'd only be able to shoot two by the time training was over. It's probably a good thing that I can shoot four or else I don't want to know what would've happened out there." Yuiko explained, sipping her tea. "Anyway, what happened with your fights? Sorry I slept through them."

"It's alright," Kurama comforted. "Mine wasn't anything flashy or anything really entertaining."

"I have a hard time believing that," Yuiko teased. Kurama blushed.

"The guy was out of his league," Hiei muttered. "And Kuwabara was defeated by a child."

"Hey!" Kuwabara said. "You don't have to say it like that!"

"But it's true," Hiei retorted.

Knocking cut their conversation short. Kurama stood up and opened the door. Botan grinned at him.

"Hi, guys! That was a great round!" Botan said, but she and Kurama were immediately pushed out of the way by Keiko and Atsuko.

"Yui-chan!" Keiko cried. She tackle-hugged Yuiko.

"Hey! Keiko! Stop it!" Yuiko said, pushing her friend off her. She sported a bright pink color on her cheeks. She glanced at Hiei. Hiei rolled his eyes and walked to the window.

Yuiko was then tackle-hugged by her mother.

"MOM!"

"My baby's alright! Yay!"

"Mom!"

"I'm never going to let any big bad demons hurt you again!"

"You're embarrassing me! Stop it!"

Botan, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Shizuru laughed. Hiei ignored it all. Yuiko was now a deep red.

"STOP LAUGHING!"

She chased all of them around the room, throwing pillows at them.

Hiei grunted as he looked out the window. Stupid detective. Wasting her time. He glanced at her as she ran past him. He looked back out the window. If she was so stupid and useless, why was he feeling this way about her?

-

Red Roses2: Ta-da! An update! Yay! Review, review, and review please! 


	21. Team Ichigaki Part I

Red Roses2: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Enjoy.

-

Hiei narrowed his eyes at the mess of drunkenness known as Atsuko, also known as Yuiko's mother. Yuiko hid her face in her hand, muttering something about "This isn't happening." Keiko and Botan were still asleep, and Shizuru stood on the balcony lighting another cigarette. Kurama stood on Yuiko's other side, looking surprised.

"Not a very responsible mother, is she?" Yuiko grumbled as she slowly lifted her face out of her hands.

"Well . . . at least she cares," Kurama said.

Yuiko gave him a look. Hiei's eyebrow twitched.

"I'm surprised no one's tried to kill her yet," Hiei said. Kurama gave him a stern look.

"Humans usually don't go around massacring people, Hiei. If we were anything like demons, then she probably wouldn't be," Yuiko admitted. She sighed. "There's no point in moving her. It's almost like she's a corpse when she's this out of it."

She stepped over the beer bottles and empty food bags.

"Where's Kuwabara?" she asked.

"He said he's waiting for us in my herb garden," Kurama answered. He looked around the room. "Should we really just leave the girls to clean all this up?"

"Keiko's a neat freak. She'll do just fine on her own. And what do you mean by 'the girls', hm?" Yuiko raised an eyebrow at him.

Kurama turned bright red.

"I didn't mean - !"

At her giggles, he realized she was joking. He relaxed a bit and followed her out. Hiei grunted. It was pathetic, really, Kurama pining over her like that. The fire demon ignored the pangs of jealousy that played against his ribcage.

-

Yuiko stopped as Kurama made a turn.

"Hey, where're - ?"

"The arena. Just to check the competition out." Kurama explained.

"Good idea. I was just going to buy one of those videos they've been selling outside to do that," Yuiko said.

Kurama smirked.

"You're a fighting addict, aren't you?"

Yuiko gave him one of the foxiest grins he'd ever seen. Hiei grunted and continued down the hall, ignoring both of them.

-

"YOUR REIGUN'S KAPUT!?" Kuwabara said.

Yuiko winced.

"Yeah, Genkai-sensei did say something about that . . . . Damn it. I should've been more careful. Sorry, Kuwabara."

"Hey, no need to apologize. You were awesome back there, catching even us off guard. Even Kurama was surprised!"

She smirked.

"So, what else did Genkai say?" Kuwabara asked.

"We didn't really talk about it. My PMS was getting in the way that day."

". . . . I didn't need to know that . . . ."

Yuiko burst out laughing. Kuwabara joined in after a little while.

"Just keep this in mind," said someone.

They stopped laughing and turned. The masked fighter stood among the trees.

"Your aura is sucked dry. Until you fully recover, you shouldn't use your reigun. Or else you'll ruin your arm, just like someone else we know," the masked fighter said. She walked away without another word.

Kuwabara tried to think of who the masked fighter meant, after freaking out over the young female voice. Yuiko raised an eyebrow at the voice, but she didn't ponder it for too long. An image of Hiei's bandaged right arm resonated in her head.

"Oh shit . . . ." Yuiko muttered.

-

"That was rigged!" Kuwabara shouted as they looked at the matches. Team Urameshi had two in a row. Later, they would face a third team, and then Team Toguro.

"Nothing we can do," Yuiko said, putting the piece of paper down. "From what I've seen from those tapes, Team Ichigaki's going to be tough. And they have humans on their team, don't they, Kurama?"

Kurama nodded.

"They fight with invisible weapons, right?" Yuiko said.

Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"You couldn't see them?" he asked.

Hiei glanced over at them from his perch on the window sill. Kuwabara blinked confusedly. Yuiko's face morphed into a worried expression.

"No, I couldn't. Could you?"

"Barely," Kurama admitted. They stayed silent for a moment. Yuiko shrugged.

"I got nothing," she said.

-

"Where are Kurama and Hiei? The match is in a few hours!" Kuwabara shouted.

"They'll be here. They wouldn't bail on us," Yuiko assured him. Kuwabara grunted.

They walked down the hall with the masked fighter.

"Hey! Yuiko!" called a voice.

She turned around. A tall, handsome young man ran up to her.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," he said.

"And you are . . . ?" she asked.

"I'm Koenma!" he said.

She blinked at him repeatedly.

"Is this an illusion then?" Yuiko questioned.

"No! This is my human form. Anyway, aside from that, I'm here to talk to you about your egg." Koenma said.

Yuiko racked her memory for anything that mentioned a special egg.

"Oh yeah! That thing! What about it?"

Kuwabara stood staring at them, looking confused.

"Well, it'll be hatching soon. The hatchling may be of use to you in the tournament. If you've been good that is." Koenma explained.

Yuiko pouted.

"What do you mean 'if I've been good'? I've been a sweet little angel!" She grinned at him.

Koenma narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, one: you curse more than a young lady should, two: you're a fighting addict and have committed murder on purpose. Yes, it was only demons and under my orders, but still. Those two things can have an effect on the creature inside the egg." Koenma said.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of. Didn't you ever hear that rhyme?" Yuiko said, turning and walking away.

"And that arrogance is going to make it even worse!" he yelled after her. She waved her hand in the air. He glowered. "Fine! Let it devour you! See if I care!"

She laughed to herself.

"I love getting under his skin. It's so much fun," she said under her breath.

-

The crowd roared. Koto stood in the middle of the ring again. Team Urameshi stood on one end and Team Ichigaki on the other. Kurama and Hiei were still missing. So were two members of the other team. They agreed on a three-on-three match.

"Ready?" Koto spoke into the microphone. "Begin!"

-

Red Roses2: Please review. 


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